Lillian Cox

Lillian Cox
Born (1907-02-22)February 22, 1907
Quincy, Florida, U.S.
Died (2018-08-10)August 10, 2018
(aged 111 years, 169 days)
Meadows Place, Texas, U.S.
Occupation Retired seamstress and fashion store retailer
Known for America's Oldest Driver
Spouse(s) Thomas Cox (married 1925-1976)
Children Carolyn (1927-2008)

Lillian Todd Cox (February 22, 1907 – August 10, 2018) was an American supercentenarian who at age 101 was recognized as "America's Oldest Driver" in 2008.

Biography

Todd was born as Lillian Clarice Todd to Robert Little Todd and Jeanie Ola Parramore. In 1939 Cox moved to Tallahassee, Florida where she lived for most of her life. In later years she drove her 1984 Sedan Deville around the neighborhood, before finally selling the car in 2009. She first got behind the wheel in 1915, when she was only 8 years old. She reportedly said:

I drove when I wasn't supposed to be driving. We were 8 or 9 years old.[1]

Cox was recognized as the oldest licensed driver in the United States in 2008 at the age of 101.[1][2] She had renewed her license 3 months earlier, though it expired in 2011. Lillian had made a guest appearance on a Barbara Walters TV special,[3] and as the titleholder for "America's Oldest Driver", Jay Leno still wanted her to appear on The Tonight Show, though she preferred to ride in a limousine for the occasion. In 2002, she drove her Sedan Deville from Tallahassee to Houston, Texas 3 to 5 times a year, aged 95 at the time. She drove her Sedan Deville for more than 28 years, and remembers back in her youth when gas only cost 15 cents a gallon.

Cox's husband and their only daughter Carolyn (1927 – 2008) were both deceased. She was a member of First Baptist Church. She moved to Meadows Place, Texas after her 103rd birthday and lived there in an assisted living facility.[4] For her 105th birthday the mayor named February 22 as Lillian Cox Day.[5] Upon reaching the age of 110 years, she became a supercentenarian on February 22, 2017.[6]

In the few years up until her passing, the Mayor Charles Jessup declared her birthday as "Lillian Cox Day". She died in Meadows Place, Texas at The Hampton Assisted Living Centre on August 10, 2018, aged 111 years, 169 days. Her burial took place in her longtime home of Tallahassee, Florida.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "101 Year Old Driver Lillian Cox". Archived from the original on 2012-03-13.
  2. ↑ "101-Year-Old Woman Gets Driver's License Renewed Until 2011". Archived from the original on 2009-01-16.
  3. ↑ http://www.adlercentenarians.org/lillian_cox.htm
  4. ↑ Carol Christian (2014-05-15). "At 107, Lillian Cox may be the oldest person in Fort Bend County". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  6. ↑ Melissa Wilson (2017-02-22). "Happy 110th Birthday, Lillian Cox!". FOX 26. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  7. ↑ https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/08/13/indomitable-lillian-cox-dies-111/976481002/
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