In Loving Memory of Katy Cox
Katherine Leigh ‘Katy’ Cox, age 35, triumphed over cancer on April 21, 2018.
Katy was born on September 17, 1982 in Ft. Worth, TX, to James Alex Peterson and Katrina Leigh Simpson-Peterson. She graduated from Northwest High School in Justin, TX, where she was the yearbook editor. After receiving the Beta Sigma Phi Scholarship in 2000, she embarked on her education, eventually becoming a Certified Nurse Aide. She married Benjamin Joseph Cox on March 26th, 2006.
Katy was a bright, caring, loving, kind soul who spread joy and laughter wherever she went – the kind of person that, having met her once, you would never forget. An old soul with a bright personality, she was full of adventure, a talented photographer and cook (especially Dutch Oven cooking) who loved traveling (road trips were her favorite), hiking and camping in the mountains, sewing, crafts, and strolling through flea markets and thrift stores searching for wonderful things. Her family meant the world to her; she loved her nieces and nephews as if they were her own, and nothing made her happier than spending time with them, filling their world with love, light and fun.
In both her professional and personal life, Katy’s calling was care and compassion for others, easing pain and offering comfort wherever she could. She mothered the world, making sure that no one was lonely or left out, that everyone felt important and loved. Even at the end of her life, she gave her eyes, bringing the gift of sight to two other people who will forever see the world through her lens of optimism and love. The donation of her corneas is a perfect metaphor for Katy’s life: what a miracle that something so small could do so much to change the lives of others.
Even before her diagnosis, Katy’s motto was “Live like you were dying.” She made sure to fill every second, understanding that life is a gift. Just a year ago, after a visit to Colorado, she decided to pick up and move here, understanding that, whether we know it or not, there’s no time to lose; moments are made to be seized. She went nonstop as long as she could, even walking the caves at Carlsbad just days before her passing.
If she could tell us anything, it would be not to wait until you have a death sentence to live your life: eat the cake; buy the plane ticket. Live your best life. And she did, exuberantly.
Beloved wife, sister, daughter, granddaughter and aunt, Katy leaves behind countless aching hearts, including her husband, Benjamin Cox; her mother, Katrina Peterson; her sister, Kasandra Powell (John); her brother, Billy Hukill; her grandparents, Charles and Thaira Johnson; her nephews, Caden, Preston, Waylon, JR., Levi, Bo and Blaze; her nieces Natalie and Peyton; her aunts, Jeanie Wilkerson (Jimmy Farquhar), Glenda Langevin and Cindy Hausner; her uncle, Alex Carrol Wilkerson; her sisters of the heart, Tiffany Taylor and Amber Spivey; her brother of the heart, Sirous Snider; her 
stepmother, Teresa Harris Peterson; her stepsister, Michelle Letulle; her cousins, Melissa Shamburger, Cherith Hayes, Jim Farquhar and Cody Wilkerson; and too many other friends and relatives to name.
She was preceded in death by her father, James Peterson; her grandfather, Charles Peterson; and her great-grandparents, Alex and Inez Wilkerson.
In lieu of flowers, Katy’s family asks that you please consider a donation in her memory to Pikes Peak Hospice, www.pikespeakhospice.org
Services are under the direction of Return to Nature Funeral Home, Colorado Springs, Colorado www.returntonaturecolorado.com