Born Thelma Maxine Cox to Raymond Cox and Lydia Lynn Wonnell Cox in Willow Springs, Missouri, on September 12, 1930, and passed peacefully in her sleep on March 27, 2017.
Maxine was preceded in death by her mother Lydia; father Raymond; and husband Jay; brothers Darrell, Donald and Bill; sister Nola; son Ronald; daughters Karen and Barbara; and granddaughter Heather.
She is survived by her brother Ron Cox in Missouri and twin sisters Midge Lippincott and Peggy Sievers in Iowa; sons Michael and Izzy Leech in Cortez, and Brent Leech and Randi Warren in Moab; daughters Betty and Lyle Baldwin in Grand Junction, and Susan and Danny Simpson in Moab; daughter-in-law Ginny in Moab; and son-in-law Michael Been in Dolores. She is also survived by 21 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren.
After her mother passed in 1941, Maxine and her siblings were divided out amongst relatives and she was sent to live with her maternal aunt Mae in Iowa. She left at the age of 14 to embark on her journey that would bring her to Utah. On September 16, 1946, at the age of 16, Maxine married Jay Leech in Tooele, Utah. Between 1947 and 1959 Jay and Maxine welcomed seven children. While their children were young, Jay and Maxine moved from place to place for work, from Utah to Wyoming and Colorado before finally placing roots back in the Lisbon Valley. On June 7, 1981, Maxine said goodbye to Jay after a short battle with cancer.
Maxine spent her life devoted to loving her family and her community. She was the happiest while loving on and snuggling all the babies in the family and watching them grow. She has enriched the lives of everyone that knew her and she will be missed by many friends and family.
There will be a viewing on Thursday March 30, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the Moab LDS 400 North Chapel with a funeral service starting at 11 a.m., followed by interment at Grand Valley Cemetery in Moab.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.SpanishValleyMortuary.com.
