Myron Fox

Myron Fox

The world lost a good one on Thursday, May 23rd when Myron Fox, 80, a Needham resident of over 30 years, (formerly of Boston, Malden, Braintree and Natick) succumbed to an awful 4-year battle with Lewy Body Dementia. He is survived by his wife of 50+ years Gloria (Crowley) and four sons – John and his wife Kathy of Upton, Mark and his wife Lori of Southborough, Steve and his wife Sue of Huntington Beach, CA, and Doug and his wife Laura of Needham. He was proud Papa to Melissa, Nicky, Stephanie, Jennifer, Annalise, Ben, Seamus and Cameron, brother to Barry ‘Uncle Buck’ Fox of the Philippines and son of the late Sydney and Celia Fox. Uncle, cousin and friend to many.

He graduated Malden High School, received his undergrad at Tufts where he majored in Math and German, and then achieved a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern. Myron spent over 30 years working as a systems engineer at GTE Sylvania in Needham. In 1985 and for the next eight years, he served as Director of Engineering for what was at the time the largest communications project ever undertaken by private industry - an all digital radio, telephone, microwave, computer and satellite communications network that transmitted and received messages virtually anywhere in the world. He was very proud that the system he helped design contributed to the success of the Gulf War.

Myron starred as the starting goalie for both Malden High School and Tufts, playing much of it without a mask and earning some proud scars. He loved watching his son Steve play hockey at Needham High, and probably even more so loved watching his Bruins excel on the ice, especially those great teams with Bobby Orr.

Myron met the love of his life Gloria when they worked together at GTE. He warmly embraced her two sons as his own, taking them to the zoo, out skating, and to museums on weekends. Myron and Gloria married just after Christmas in San Francisco in 1967. He cared for her and encouraged her to replace engineering with her true love of pastel portraiture, gifting a beautiful talent to the world.

After his retirement, he enjoyed pursuing a life-long love of philately and German military cover collection. He held leadership positions in many philatelic organizations and traveled to stamp shows around the world, amassing his extensive collections. His interest in covers came from his uncles, Roy and Ernest, who gifted Myron countless interesting materials after serving in World War II.

Beyond his work and impressive collections, Myron loved spending as much time as possible with his family: first with his sons, and then with all of his grandchildren. He loved attending family parties and joining his sons to sing and drink from a boot at Oktoberfest. He looked down on those who spent their weekends golfing, which he considered no different than ‘watching grass grow.’

One of his lasting legacies will be the unofficial Fox code he’s handed down to future generations. Built upon the golden rule, Myron always preached to all the importance of doing the right thing even when it is the harder path. So if you’ve ever found yourself on the other end of a soapbox lecture from a Fox, you have him to thank.  

Visiting hours will be held on Sunday, June 16th (appropriately Father’s Day) from 1-4pm at Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Avenue, and all are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to College Bound Dorchester in Myron’s name to help remove the obstacles to college for Boston’s inner city youth – http://www.collegebounddorchester.org .

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Myron Fox, please visit our floral store.