James Vincent Cozza, II

James Vincent Cozza II passed from this life to the next on July 26, 2024, letting go of a gentle life well-lived and well-loved. Some of the things that he loved most were his family, friends, fishing, bowling, ASU sports, and a good joke. And all of those things loved him back.

Luckily there’s been no one like Jim Cozza before or since. He was born the quintessential middle child of James and Eula Cozza on October 28, 1950. His self-proclaimed unrecognized genius was put to good use tormenting his older sisters Nan and Veta and his younger brothers John and Dan. He spent an inordinate amount of time trying to look cool by not getting the best grades in the class and spent subsequent decades warning his children of the dangers of trying to be cool by getting bad grades.

He described his own origin thusly: “My full name is James Vincent Cozza II. My mother insisted on naming me "II" rather than "Junior" because she thought it would sound silly to call me Junior when I grew up. As it turned out, my father discovered late in life that his given name was not James Vincent [which means] I am the second with no first.” Truly, he was one-of-a-kind.

His favorite kind of joke was the worst kind: a long set-up and horrible pun of a punchline. No one enjoyed these jokes except him, and the beauty is that he loved them enough for all of us. Everyone who ever met him liked him, and one of his most irresistible charms was the lopsided grin that would overtake his face when he knew he was about to be REALLY funny. To himself.

His love for his mom’s cooking is part of the legacy his children and grandchildren will carry forward. Every one of us can brag that we have at least three family dishes that no other family claims: pinwheels, grapefruit pie, and peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. None of these are five-star foods, but every one of them comes with memories of Dad loving them and us horrifying our friends with the thought of peanut butter and pickles together, which makes them truly delicious. 

He and Judy Christensen met when they were both teenagers. On a late January morning in 1971, they got married at the courthouse on Judy’s lunch hour for a $5 filing fee. Then Jim took his new wife back to work and went home to his parents’ house to pack for his new married life. They were married 53 years when Jim passed, which makes the $5 court fee seem like a really sound investment.

In the summer of 1971, Jim joined the US Army to avoid being drafted. He spent his time in the service learning, speaking, and translating Russian in West Germany where their oldest daughter Jana was born. 

They returned to the USA in 1974 after his honorable discharge and he graduated in 1977 from NAU with a degree in forestry. That led to a career with a lumber mill that took the family on multiple adventures across northern Arizona, then New Mexico, then back to Arizona. During those years, Jim & Judy joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Gina, Jamie and Jenny were born. 

Changing careers with a young family may not have been his first choice, but thanks to insecurity in the lumber industry, Jim and his dad did the objectively wildest packing job of anyone’s belongings (the memory of the toilet plunger hanging out one side of the El Camino is a vivid one) and with less fanfare than the moment deserved, the Cozzas moved to west Phoenix in 1982 where they would stay for over 35 years. The last four Cozza kids: Jodie, Jimmy, Joey, and Jacob were all born there. 

Jim worked with his brother Dan as an insurance agent for 35 years until he retired in 2015. Jim spent just as many years serving in the Church, loving every chance he had to participate in scouting and outdoor activities. To help offset the cost of owning eight human children, he also had a paper route for many years and on weekends he would take at least one of his kids with him. Finding frogs in the middle of the road, the smell of newsprint and morning dew, listening to oldies on the radio and getting donuts with Dad are lasting memories. If you come to his memorial service, expect to hear stories about this time in all our lives.

He was an entertaining and motivating speaker. One of the few times we remember him being genuinely offended was when a handful of his children collectively roasted him for his new high council calling, faking excitement that “now he would have to learn to give boring talks.” Nothing he ever said was boring, especially if you asked him.

His wife Judy, their eight children and thirty-five grandchildren have a vast array of memories with Grandpa, involving one or more of the following: a boat, a fishing pole, a prank, a bowling ball, a story, and unparalleled support for anyone’s interests.

Here is a short list of things he loved to do with his kids: snow ski, water ski, fish at Lee’s Ferry, bowl, hike the Grand Canyon, eat slushies frozen solid that had to be dug out of the cup over the course of hours with a spoon, throw a ball, attend a ball game, take road trips, camp at West Clear Creek, play cards, and make Grandpa’s Famous Chocolate Shakes.

He didn’t consider himself creative, but he is the author of the bedtime story “Sally and Sandy” which has been requested thousands of times by dozens of children and grandchildren wanting to avoid bedtime since its origins in the 1980s. Jim’s talents also extended to recalling song lyrics from many decades past. 

Jim and Judy became grandparents in 1996 when Rachel was born. While he may have liked to say that he was a genius, Rachel firmly contends that he proved it every time they sat down together to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire and he never had to phone a friend or poll the audience to have the right answer. She will forever be convinced of his brilliance. 

In 2006 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He allowed himself to feel sad about it for one whole day before deciding he had way too much living to do. He served in the Church and worked at Farmers’ Insurance as long as he could, fished as often as he felt like it, and kept bowling with anyone that he could convince to join him.

Jim also loved Scrabble and computer solitaire. Even with advanced Parkinson’s, he would routinely double his opponents’ Scrabble score. He was a fierce competitor and showed no mercy, especially after consulting the Official Scrabble Dictionary.

Jim is survived by his wife Judy, his eight children and their spouses: Jana and James Parker, Gina and Caleb Hinton, Jamie and Ryan Bailey, Jennifer and Derek Bayles, Jodie and Adrian Heiselt, James and Karissa Cozza, Joseph and Susan Cozza, and Jacob and Kailey Cozza and thirty-three of his thirty-five grandchildren. He is also survived by his four siblings: Veta Langdell, Nan Campbell, John Cozza and Daniel Cozza as well as their families.

Jim wouldn’t love flowers as much as he’d love a donation on his behalf to the organization that keeps Lee’s Ferry up and running. We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that it was his favorite place on earth.  https://www.nps.gov/glca/getinvolved/donate.htm 

If you ever get a chance to stop by the Cliff Dwellers Lodge restaurant, have a nice meal in his honor. As our dad was known to say, “you shouldn’t have… but I’m glad you did.”

Services will be held Saturday September 7th at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center 5001 E Cheyenne Dr Suite 101, Phoenix from 1:00-3:00 in the Main Hall where we plan to tell stories and perform some of his best one-liners. Anyone wearing ASU gear will be given priority seating (whether that is closest or farthest from the grandkids is up to you).