Basil N. Cox, 93, of Mount Dora, FL passed away on Monday, March 11, 2013.

Basil was the son of the late Frank N. Cox and Doris W. Cox. He was born in West Cliff- on-Sea, Essex County, England, July 2nd. 1919. When he was one year old his parents moved to Australia and returned to England when Basil was twelve. He graduated from Bishopshalt High School and Acton Technical College and entered the British Post Engineering Department( now British Telecom.) as an Engineering Trainee.

He served in the British Indian Army and was incarcerated by the Japanese at Singapore and Taiwan for 31/2 years. During this time he was involved in an underground radio operation and fortunately was never discovered. On returning to England he resumed his work in the telecommunications field and prior to moving to the United States with his wife and daughter in 1959 was a Senior Engineer with Siemens, London, involved in the engineering of telephone exchanges in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Borneo.

He joined the United States Instrument Corporation in Charlottesville, Virginia where he became an Engineering Supervisor. Although his largest assignment was the Las Vegas Toll Center his favorite assignment was engineering the telephone systems for USNS communication ships Vanguard, Redstone and Mercury associated with the Apollo Project. In 1965 his wife Vera Woods Cox died. At this time the company merged with Stromberg Carlson in Rochester, New York. His transfer to Rochester was deferred until he had settled his personal affairs.

In Rochester he met and married Eileen P. McGuire in 1967. In 1978 he was transferred to a Stromberg Carlson Research and Development facility in Longwood, Florida. He retired from Stromberg Carlson as a Technical Staff Engineer in 1982 and moved to Chestertown, Maryland to be near the water and enjoy the four seasons of the year. During his retirement years in Chestertown his main hobbies were sailing and the design and building of their post and beam home. He also worked as a volunteer Foreman Electrician for the Community Playground, Habitat for Humanity and set up a framing operation for the local artists who ran Gallery Five. He was an active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church where he served as an Usher. He and his wife returned to Florida in 2002 to be near their daughter and grandchildren and resided in Waterman Village, Mount Dora. He was a member of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Eustis. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Eileen just two days prior to his passing. He is survived by his daughter Deborah, two grandsons Christopher and Timothy, sister Rita, nephew Colin, niece Valerie, two great nephews Timothy and Christopher, three great nieces Jennifer, Natalie, Rachael and great, great nephew Alex. Burial will be private with interment at Monticello Memory Gardens, Charlottesville, Virginia.