John M. Fox

With sadness we announce the death of John M. Fox, age 70, of Concord, Massachusetts who passed away on Thursday April 21, with his wife at his side. John was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 6, 1952, to his late parents Wallace and Marjorie (Anderson) Fox.

He is survived by Lee Newman, his beloved wife and companion of almost 50 years and his nephew Aaron Fox of Denver.  John was preceded in death by his younger brother David Fox. He is also survived by three loving aunts and numerous cousins.

John was a graduate of Indiana University where he received a BA in Philosophy and the PhD program in Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He had a long-distinguished career as a mathematician and computer scientist.  He began his career in the Department of Mathematics at Northeastern University, served as the Director of Software Development and Principal Engineer at Smart Software, and completed the remainder of his career at Datamorphics the software company he founded and in which he served as President.  He received numerous awards for his software development work including the prestigious APICS Technology Partnership Award of Innovative Excellence. 

It was in September of 1973 that John met his future wife Lee Newman while the two were completing their senior year of studies at Indiana University.  They quickly fell in love and began a lifelong journey together, moving to Boston for graduate school and then making Massachusetts their permanent home.

John was an intellectually curious man with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.  He was exceptionally well read, enjoying the subjects of mathematics, philosophy, and physics.  His intellect and deep knowledge of science and the arts made an impression on all those he met throughout his life. 

During his life John enjoyed gardening, skiing, hiking, biking, sailing and fishing, but his true loves were family, friends and sailing.  Over the years he sailed the waters of the New England coastline from Maine to Buzzards Bay and made passages from the Virgin Islands to Bermuda and from St. Lucia to the Grenadines. He also enjoyed listening to music of all types and  played the piano, violin and guitar. 

John lived his life fully with unbounded energy always seeking out new and exciting experiences. He was a person one could always depend on to be present and supportive through life’s most challenging experiences. John’s memory will live on through the countless lives he touched and the many adventures he shared with family and friends; he will be deeply missed by all who know him.

The memorial service for John is planned for June 16 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Parish Church in Needham, MA.  Services will conclude with a luncheon reception at the parish hall.  F

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s memory to Massachusetts General Hospital https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/give-to-the-mgh-fund or the American Mathematical Society http://www.ams.org/giving/ways-to-give/make.

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