George Fox was born in Towson, MD on May 6, 1939. He graduated from Towson High School. He recalled that in ninth grade his grandfather, then superintendent of schools in Annapolis, MD, gave him a U.S. Naval Academy catalog and suggested he might be interested. His father, who had graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis and had a natural antipathy for midshipmen, suggested that, since George liked camping, he might like West Point better. Given that he was not a strong swimmer, he embraced his father’s advice. George wrote, “In the summer of 1957, my father and brother dropped me at the entrance to South Area and my Army career was launched, becoming a member of the Class of 1961 (‘Second to None’). I had studied at several institutions, including the Wharton School at Penn, but had never experienced the same quality and intensity of educational experience as I did at West Point.” He was fortunate with roommates, Carl Bacon and Skip Higginbotham, during plebe year especially, as they helped him set priorities and adjust to the military point-of-view. He admitted he was initially surprised at the military compulsion to keep one’s shoes polished to a mirror-like sheen; with their help, he made the transition. Yearling and cow years, he roomed with Bob Hampton and Charlie Green, who (along with Jeep Heister) tutored him in the finer points of bridge. Both Hampton and Fox were platoon leader and platoon sergeant, respectively, First Class year in first Beast; Charlie Green and George were platoon leader and platoon sergeant for the academic year. George followed Charlie’s career and attended several of his change-of-command ceremonies. He was privileged to present a eulogy for Charlie at his funeral.

The 1961 Howitzer states, “George, an aristocrat from the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, was born with a lacrosse stick in one hand and a Bridge Deck in the other. Through-out his four years at the Academy he never failed to ‘Cease Work’ on his academics, and will be well remembered for his humor in the classroom. His activities as a cadet were: Lacrosse, Chapel Acolytes, French Club, KDET, Camera Club, Hi Fi Club, Skeet Club, Ski Club, AND Bridge Club.”

“I dated Barbara all four years at West Point. We married soon after graduation. We have three children and six grandchildren of whom we are very proud. I spent my initial artillery assignment in Nuremberg, Germany in the 4th Armored Division, but resigned when I rotated back to the United States in 1985. I worked for IBM soon after getting my MBA at Wharton and held numerous management and staff jobs, which I found immensely satisfying.” By the end of his 30-year career, George had consulted for telecommunications firms in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Rio de Janeiro, Canada, and New Zealand. In retirement he continued his favorite pursuit, computer programming, as a charter member of CyLogix (later Keane). He provided application services for Morgan Stanley. Upon his second retirement, he volunteered to support Republican candidates in state and local races and represented the Princeton Municipal Republican Committee at the county level. At Princeton United Methodist Church he helped launch the Stephen Ministry, a program offering one-on-one Christian care to those going through tough times.

Ever the optimist, he was a lifelong Eagles fan. He read widely and devoted himself wholeheartedly in a succession of learning opportunities. George loved “messing about with boats,” and in his 30s spent weekends and summers at the family home near Annapolis cruising the Chesapeake in a 24-foot sailboat. George wrote that “he and Barbara also bought a bright yellow Vermont Dory, which has three sets of oarlocks so that if one of us gets tired of rowing the other can take over. We often go rowing on Carnegie Lake in Princeton. The boat is a metaphor for our life together.”

Always a jogger, he then turned to mountain climbing in his 40s and, with his brother, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1980. Slowed down by a heart attack and triple bypass surgery (and, later, stage III cancer), he took up golf, joined the CyLogix golf league and delighted in winning the company tournament.

Among his core values were intelligence, integrity, and the value of investing in superior equipment to get a job done right. Sought out for his advice, George navigated difficult situations with ease and clarity. He could light up a room with his smile and his warmth. Devoted to family, he took immense but quiet pride in the accomplishments of his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by his parents, George DeGruchy Fox and Cina Eleanor Willis Fox, and his stepmother, Elizabeth Waring Fox. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Figge Fox, two brothers (William Willis Fox, MD of Narberth, PA and David DeGruchy Fox of Old Greenwich, CT), and three children: Elizabeth Fox Dodge (Jed) of Rochester, NY; George Fox Jr. (Karolyn) of Northville, MI; and Susannah Fox (Eric Halperin) of Washington, DC; plus eight grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

George Fox died on December 12, 2017 as a result of metastatic melanoma. Throughout his yearlong endeavor to beat the odds, he continued to lead his life with characteristic courage, dignity, and resolve.

— Gary Webster