Beloved North Texas high school manager, who enjoyed photography, dies at age 23

Former Haslet Eaton equipment manager Ezra Cox died from a brain aneurysm on June 18.

He had just turned 23 on June 8.

“Ezra struggled with many things in his short 23 years of life, but the one thing he enjoyed the most was to make the people he loved feel happy. To all of you who ever had a part in Ezra’s life, thank you,” said Ezra’s father, James Cox on Facebook.

In 2019, the Star-Telegram published a story on Cox, who was a senior at the time, and his impact on the school’s various athletic teams, specifically the softball program.

Cox was the softball manager and bat boy at Eaton for all four years while in high school.

He was also the equipment manager for the football, girls basketball and volleyball teams.

Then Eaton softball coach Lynn Rottman called Cox a “valuable member of the program.”

“He helps set up and take down practice equipment everyday. He helps set up the field for games. He’s an amazing young man who works hard and does everything we ask him to do. It has been a blessing to have Ezra as part of the softball program and I’m truly grateful for his service,” Rottman said in the 2019 story.

A celebration of life is set for 11 a.m. on July 2 at the Fellowship of the Parks in Haslet.

Cox had a mild to moderate sensory neural hearing loss.

He wasn’t completely deaf, but needed accommodations like hearing aids. He passed his hearing test at birth, but had pneumothorax, also known as a collapsed lung.

Despite any obstacles, Cox continued to have a passion for sports.

“I really love supporting our athletic teams. I found that being the equipment manager, I can support the teams by making sure they’re provided proper equipment. I love being the manager for all teams,” Cox said in 2019.

Cox was offered a scholarship at Northwestern Oklahoma State to be its football and softball manager.

However, he stayed close to home, worked at UPS and following his high school days, Cox fell in love with photography and created his own page. He spent many game nights with Northwest, Byron Nelson and Eaton, Fort Worth Lake Country, Boyd and more...taking photos on the sideline and enjoying every second.

You will be missed Ezra.

This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 11:35 AM.