Edward L. Fox

1933 - 2016

Edward L. Fox

October 31, 1933 -

May 14, 2016

Edward L. Fox, 82 beloved by his family and many friends, passed away on Saturday, May 14, 2016 after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's Disease for 26 years and 2 months.

He was born in Sheridan, Wyoming on October 31, 1933; son of Dale M. and Constance (Mazzia) Fox. He attended Holy Name School. At Sheridan High School he was active in football, basketball, track and volleyball, and was graduated in 1952. He served in the U.S. Army from September 1953 through November 1956 and attained the rank of First Lieutenant. He graduated first in his class from the Officer Candidate School in Ft. Benning, Georgia in 1954.

He attended the University of Oklahoma; was a member of the Pi Tau Sigma Honorary Engineering Fraternity; Phi Kappa Theta Social Fraternity; and was graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1960. In September 1960 he married his college sweetheart, Eleanor (Ellie) Smith in Los Angeles, California. Ed was employed by General Electric for 13 years from June 1960 through June 1973 in several management positions and locations including the Capacitor & Battery Department in Hudson Falls, New York; Computer Department in Jacksonville, Florida; and the Battery Department in Chicago, Illinois and Gainesville, Florida. His last position with GE was Manager of Marketing of Imaging & Display Devices in Owensboro, Kentucky. In July 1973, Ed relocated his family to Fort Myers when he became President of Crystek Crystals Corporation on Crystal Drive.

Ed resigned from Crystek in July 1979 and founded Fox Enterprises, Inc. dba Fox Electronics, which became one of the world's largest privately owned frequency control manufacturers in in the world. Fox Electronics is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of quartz crystals and oscillators (frequency control products), and is located in Billy Creek Commerce Center. Fox Electronics was the 2006 winner of the Southwest Florida Blue Chip Community Business Award for Lee County and the 2007 winner of the Horizon Council Industry Appreciation Award for Manufacturing. In 2009 Fox Electronics was named 37th of the 51 Top Companies of Southwest Florida. In April 2012, Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDTI - on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange) purchased Fox Electronics. IDT is ranked number one in the world in timing products. How very sad that Ed was unable to know how successful Fox Electronics became.

To honor and cherish the many happy memories are his loving wife of 55 years, Ellie; son, E.L. Fox of Fort Myers; sister Bernadine (Richard) Green of Sun City, Arizona; and many nieces and nephews.

Ed will be dearly loved and remembered for his integrity, kindness, keen judgment, gentle nature, great sense of humor, respect for others and intellect by his family, employees, and numerous friends.

Ed enjoyed golf, tennis, bowling, foreign travel, the theater and symphony. The family would like to thank Mr. & Mrs. Gene Burias for the wonderful and loving care Ed received as a resident of Pleasant View Nursing Home, Millbrook Nursing Home, and The Woodlands Nursing Home.

The family asks that donations in his memory be made to your church or favorite charity. Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to the National Cremation Society and interment will be at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens, 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, Florida.