Erika Christene Cox was born to Henry and Wilamene Cox on July 11, 1955, and brought home to Calf Creek Ranch north of Mullen. There she joined her siblings Judith, Kay, and A.B. She passed this life on Aug. 12, 2022, at her home in Mullen.
She graduated Valentine High School, Valentine, Nebraska, and attended Chadron State College in Chadron where she was a member of Chi Omega fraternity.
She had an early career in portrait photography at Brown Harano in North Platte, followed by photography work in Fresno, California. She left that business to study computer programming. She programmed for Boulder County, Colorado, and for IDS in Denver. She wrote the pay-atthe- pump program for Beacon Oil in Hanford, California. She also wrote the program for Cadillac OnStar emergency and later programmed for Mercantile Bank in St. Louis.
She returned to Nebraska to complete her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (2004). She was an accomplished writer and Shakespearean scholar. She remained at UNK working on her master’s until she was needed at home. She cared for her mother during her final illness and remained in Mullen afterward.
She is survived by her sister Judith Brown of Seneca and her children C. J. Alexander of St. Paul, Peter Bentley (Staci), grandsons Jack and Hunter of Aurora, Colo., Erik Bentley of Denver, and Elizabeth Russell of Eugene, Ore.
Also remaining to mourn her loss is her sister Kay Tarr (Wes) of North Platte, and her children Matthew (Catharina) Wolcott, grandson Sam and granddaughter Anna of Bua, Sweden, Charles Wolcott and daughter Devin Wolcott of North Platte, and daughter Sarah (Scott) Linden of Callaway, and her children Kirsten Edmonds and Zacchaeus Burnside.
She is also survived by her brother A.B. Cox, his daughter Savanna Hebbert (Brady) and granddaughter Zandra Rose of Calf Creek Ranch, Mullen.
Chris was dearly loved and held a special place in the hearts of her nephews and nieces. She was creative, funny, and quite witty. She will be fondly remembered.
A service will be held in Mullen at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20 at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church with inurnment at Cedarview Cemetery.
Chris loved her cats dearly. Memorials may be made to the nokillnetwork.org or to the family.