Hospital Benefactor Raymond Cox Dies

Raymond B. Cox, known for his philanthropic work for South Coast Medical Center, died Tuesday at his Monarch Beach home in Laguna Niguel. He was 91.

In 1982, Cox founded the Winners Circle, a fund-raising vehicle for the medical center that has given more than $5 million for hospital equipment and improvements. The group now has more than 600 members.

He was also a founding member of El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel, as well as the former Monarch Bank.

Cox was born in San Francisco in 1909 and graduated from Fremont High School in Los Angeles. After attending the University of Washington and serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he founded Horn & Cox, a Seattle-based distributor of radios and later televisions and appliances.

He moved to Southern California in 1944 and continued as president of the company until 1958, when he went to work for Hoffman Electronics as vice president and general manager of consumer and military electronics. While at Hoffman, he helped develop solar cells used in space satellites and freeway telephone systems.

Cox and his wife, Margaret, moved to Monarch Beach in 1969 and founded Monarch Bank with two colleagues in the early 1970s. Monarch Bank became Western Bancorp in 1997, after acquiring Western Bank and Bank of Santa Monica. Western Bancorp was sold to U.S. Bancorp in 1999.

Cox also was a 22-year member of the Los Angeles County Heart Assn. board of directors and was a lifetime member of the Los Angeles Shriners.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years; daughters Marilyn B. Wooten and Gail B. Finnell, both of Newport Beach; four granddaughters; and one great-granddaughter.

A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Thursday at South Shores Church, 32712 Crown Valley Parkway, Monarch Beach.