Jeanne Gay Cox

Jeanne “Gay” Hancock Cox, 74, of Newport, North Carolina, passed away on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at Carteret Health Care.

A funeral service to honor Gay’s life will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, November 16th at Stacy Free Will Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Ernest Laxton. Interment will follow at Stacy Community Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. For those unable to attend, the service can be viewed through her obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website. The service will remain on the Funeral Home website for 90 days.

Gay was born on November 29, 1949, in Morehead City, NC, to the late Lester and Martha Hancock. Raised in Stacy, she graduated from East Carteret High School and later attended Hardbarger Business College in Raleigh. She was a woman of faith who was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. Gay dedicated many years to her career, working as a bookkeeper at Snug Harbor and Sea Level Extended Care, and served as the Finance Officer for the Town of Newport, and an Accounting Technician for the city of New Bern. Her skills as a bookkeeper at Hamilton Furniture were deeply valued by those she worked with.

Gay enjoyed crafting and sewing, had a remarkable green thumb, and poured love into her garden. She had an adventurous spirit, enjoying camping trips, jet skiing, and visiting the mountains. Her fried chicken was legendary, bringing joy to family and friends. Gay was a warm and loving “neighborhood mom”, welcoming all to her home. She had a special love for her fur babies but relished her role as a Nana the most. Gay will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege to know and love her.

Those remaining to cherish her memory are her loving husband of 26 years, Ricky Cox of the home; daughter, Cynthia Fulcher Mintz (Matthew) of Stacy; son, Rodney Gray Fulcher (Anjanette) of Williston; grandchildren, Brianna Mintz and Ashley Mintz, both of Stacy, James Piner of Smyrna, Christa Laxton of Harkers Island, Christopher O. Cox (Hope) of Wallace, and Christian Alex Cox of Wilmington; great-grandchildren, Jacob Piner, Ashley Piner, Lillianna Piner, Travis Laxton, Diana Cox, John Cox, Athena Cox, Peter Cox, and Aiden Cox.

In addition to her parents, Gay was preceded in death by her sister, Mattie Laura Hancock.

As an expression of sympathy, flowers are welcome, or memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association Eastern North Carolina Chapter, 5171 Glenwood Ave., Suite 101, Raleigh, NC 27612.

 Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences.

 Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.