Dr. Robert Fox of Fairfax, Vermont, 85, died peacefully on Saturday, November 10, 2018 in his home with his son Tom by his side. He was born on August 7, 1933 in Troy NY, son of the late Thomas and Bessie (Gero) Fox. He is survived by his son Thomas Fox of New York, NY and a sister Katherine J. Nash of Cohoes, New York. He is also survived by eight nieces; Michelene Wilson and husband Win, Heliena Fox and husband Dave Shaddock, Karen Pheiffenberger and husband Bob, Linda Nash VanAmburgh, Diane Nash, Debbie Fox, Eileen Hogan and husband Michael and Lisa Middlebrook and husband John. He was predeceased by his wife Ann M. (Sandberg) Fox on August 21, 2003.

Bob’s religious faith and academic career enriched him with a multitude of colorful life stories, which he happily recounted at every opportunity. As a youth, he spent a year as a novitiate monk at St. Anselms Abbey in Washington, DC before leaving to join the U.S. Army as a cryptographer. After marrying Ann, the love of his life and earning his PhD, he served on the faculty of Georgetown University, the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, and the American University in Washington DC before finally taking a professorship at Saint Michael’s College, Vermont. These positions enabled Bob’s family to travel widely, collecting beautiful indigenous artifacts that later graced their dream home, designed by Tom and surrounded by nature in the woods of Fairfax, Vermont. This retreat soon became an open-door magnet for social gatherings including student parties, gourmet dinner invitations, or simply visits by friends wanting to take their guests on a tour of Bob’s home, enhanced with a complimentary and ever-ready Manhattan cocktail. After Ann’s death and his official retirement from Saint Mike’s, Bob certified himself and took positions as a speech language pathologist for three local school districts, simultaneously continuing to teach part-time in the Applied Linguistics Department at Saint Mike’s. Even as his own health began to deteriorate, Bob was always the first to attend to a friend or colleague in need, sending food or visiting hospitals and nursing homes. His outgoing personality and larger-than-life presence ensured that those who knew him, however briefly, never forgot him. He was loved and will be missed by a seemingly countless number of friends from all walks of life and alumni from all over the world. However, he had made it clear on many occasions that he was more than ready to join his beloved wife Ann, and for that purpose we must sadly and gladly let him go.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday, November 16, 2018 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the A.W. Rich Funeral Home, Fairfax Chapel, Fairfax, VT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Cambridge, VT Saturday, November 17, 2018 with Reverend Christopher Micale officiating. Interment will follow in the family lot in St. Luke’s Catholic Cemetery in Fairfax. Memorial contributions may be made in Robert’s memory to Franklin County Home Health and Hospice, 3 Home Health Circle, St. Albans, VT 05478. Friends who wish may forward on-line condolences or memories by visiting www.awrfh.com.