Petersburgh – Jack Vincent Fox, 87, died suddenly and peacefully in his home in Petersburgh, NY, on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. He is pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Felton Fox, to whom he was married for 62 years, his parents, Jacob Lewis Fox and Anna Elsie Shank Fox of Hatfield, PA, and his sister, Theresa Irene Fox Reese of Dickinson, TN.
Born in Lancaster, PA, Jack grew up in Hatfield and enlisted in the Navy in 1943, where he was trained as a Machinist Mate at the Wentworth Institute in Boston, MA. He served in the engine room on several ships including the destroyer SS Emmett and the DE Montgomery in the Pacific Theater. Sobered by his war experience, as he saw so many of his fellow sailors and soldiers die, and living quite a solitary life, he shared very little of his war experiences. But one memory he told over and over was how he saw the flag being raised on Iwo Jima through a pair of field glasses. His final duties as a Master at Arms included transporting dependent families and nurses to the Philippines and bringing soldiers home from China as the war drew to a close.
Jack and Betty retired to Petersburgh in 1986 after his last employment as Plant Engineer/Manager for Princo Instruments, a small firm manufacturing barometers. He designed and built their dream home where he truly invested his skills as a “jack of all trades” – he was the family carpenter, electrician and plumber and generously helped his children, sister and grandchildren as they built their homes on the same property.
A quiet, reserved and sensitive man, he loved the out of doors, especially watching wildlife from his large picture windows and, in earlier years, hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire with his son.
Jack is survived by his only child, Craig Richard Fox and his daughter-in-law and caregiver, Martha (Marti) Adams Fox of Petersburgh, and his sister, Shirley Ann Fox of North Adams, MA. He will be greatly missed by his granddaughter, Lindsay Ann Fox Cave, her husband, Nick, and their children, Aiden and Marynn, who called him “real grandpa,” and his grandson, Spec. Jonathan Galen Fox – whom Jack was so proud of – and who is on active duty in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, where he lives with his wife Brooke in Fayetteville.
A memorial service will be held at the Petersburgh Baptist Church at 4 pm on Friday, April 5. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Petersburgh Rescue Squad, whose members have so faithfully served our family.