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Joseph Lenzie Cobb, a World War II veteran who made his home with his family in San Antonio for more than 50 years, died peacefully on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the age of 98. Mr. Cobb, who went by “Joe,” moved his family to San Antonio in 1965 to begin his long and distinguished civilian career with the U.S. Air Force Security Service, a military agency that played an important, classified role in national defense during the Cold War years. Working from the Air Force Cryptologic Depot at Kelly Air Force Base, Joe travelled extensively around the globe for the installation and support of electronic arrays that monitored voice and electronic signals from countries of interest. He took great pride in his work, keeping a small plaque on his desk that read, “If you work for a man, by God work for him.” After his retirement in 1990 as Chief of the Engineering Branch, 6968 Alteration Installation Squadron in what was then known as the Electronic Security Command, Joe was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his career-long “outstanding dedication and exemplary performance of duty.” Joe was born July 13, 1924, in the little community of Wallace in Escambia County, Alabama, to Lula Grissett Cobb and her husband, Ollie C. Cobb. “Little Lenzie,” as he was known to his family, was the youngest of five children. His brothers and sisters – Bernie Cobb, Flora (Cobb) Butler, Erma (Cobb) Day and Ervie (Cobb) Garrett – all preceded him in death. Raised during the Great Depression, Joe volunteered for military service during World War II. The U.S. Navy introduced him to electronics – his ultimate career – sending him through radio school in San Diego in 1943. He served as a radioman, serviced Navy airplanes on the island of Saipan, and was honorably discharged in December 1945. Several years later, working as chief engineer for radio station WEBJ in Brewton, Alabama, Joe met a lovely woman, Claire Bell Monk, who had lost her husband in the last days of the war in Europe. Claire was hosting a 15-minute radio show called “Listen Ladies” that offered household hints, shopping tips and recipes – all of which she found comical since she could barely boil water. They married in 1949 and shared 70 years together before Claire Cobb died on Dec. 7, 2019, at the age of 95. Claire and Joe lived in Alabama, Texas and Hawaii over the course of their long lives and marriage but called San Antonio home. They were active members of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, where they had many friends. Those who knew him will remember Joe as a quiet, reserved man with a dry sense of humor that surfaced when least expected. He loved a good joke. Joe is survived by children Margaret Monk Broxton of Pensacola, Florida; Kim Cobb Lofley and her husband, Lin Lofley, of Richardson, Texas; and Brian Cobb and his fiancé, Muffy Weyman, of San Antonio; granddaughter Leigh Broxton Bragg and her husband, Djuan Bragg, of Orlando, Florida; grandson Travis Cobb Lofley of Dallas, Texas, and great-grandson Neal Benton Wynn of Orlando. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Sandra Smith, Imogene Barnes, Gerald Day, Patsy Goolsby and her husband, Russell Goolsby, all of Pensacola; Frank Cobb and his wife, Karen Cobb, of Mobile, Alabama, and Todd Monroe and his wife, Denise Monroe, of Fairhope, Alabama. Joe’s last years of life were made comfortable by the staff at Appletree Court in Richardson and through the loving attention of his remarkable caregivers Rosemary Archer and Dora Igene, who called him “Papa Joe.” Claire’s ashes will be interred with Joe’s at that time.

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Joseph Lenzie Cobb

July 13, 1924 - September 8, 2022