Mary Joan Caudill

Mary Joan Caudill (Cox), 83, passed away at 11:17 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2022, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, after a short illness.
Caudill was born on July 7, 1939, in Grove, Okla. as a member of the Cherokee Nation. She graduated from Grove High School in 1957 and was a graduate of Northeastern State College in 1961 in Tahlequah, Okla. After attending college, she began her career as an educator with a focus on literature. She worked in various schools in the northeast Oklahoma area before making her home in Grove, Okla. where she taught English and Literature at Grove Middle School.
She was a beloved teacher at Grove Middle School and will be long remembered for her dedication to the school and Grove Ridgerunner sports.
Caudill was the proud mother of four daughters: Michelle Caudill of Springfield, Melanie Vann and her husband Rich of South Coffeyville, Okla., Shannon Willman and her husband Jeremy of Republic, and Jodi Pinkley and her husband Troy Schliem of Springfield.
Caudill is preceded in death by her parents, John Dillard Cox and Helen Josephine Scales Cox, and her infant brothers Jack Cox and Chandler Cox.
In addition to her daughters, she is survived by her sister Sue Beth Hale and her brother-in-law Carl, along with their son Dr. John Hale, as well as her sister Martha Scales and her daughter Stephanie Horne. In addition, she was extremely proud of her four granddaughters and eight great-grandchildren.
The family will hold a private memorial in honor of her memory. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Grove Education Foundation For Excellence (https://geffe.org/) or the Ozark Literacy Council (https://www.ozarkliteracy.org/donate).
Her care has been entrusted to Walnut Lawn Funeral Home, Ltd. DeGraffenreid-Wood Crematory.