Mary Beitia Fox

1960 - 2025

Mary Beitia Fox, 64, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2025 at home with her family from complications due to stomach cancer. She was born on April 10, 1960, in Jerome, Idaho, to Tom and Phyllis (Thomas) Beitia. She graduated from Shoshone High School in 1978, attended Boise State University, and graduated from Idaho State University. She married Ken Fox on May 30, 1992, in Shoshone at the Methodist Church. Growing up in Shoshone, she worked as a pre-teen at the Shoshone Sale Yard, at the Frosty Isle Drive-In for a year, and, with her sister Sue and brother, Tom, at the Manhattan Café through high school and college. After graduating from college, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Pocatello, Idaho, and Powell, Wyoming, and taught writing and literature at Tacoma Community College for more than 25 years. She loved working with students and volunteered to serve as an advisor to student clubs as varied as the Film Production Club, Black Student Union, Muslim Student Association, and Archery Club.

Mary was active in the Tacoma community, loved her friends and N. 8th Street neighbors, and supported youth-centered and social justice projects, including The People's Assembly, The Lavender Rights Project, The TCC Food Pantry, and Write253, which she co-founded with friends and colleagues. She loved to travel, especially on road trips to places like Massachusetts, New Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, Wyoming, and the Oregon coast. Napping or reading on the couch, with the afternoon sun on her face and a cat sleeping on her chest, was one of her favorite pastimes.

Ken and her kids, were, simply, everything to her.

She is survived by her husband, Ken; her three children, Ellie (Kohl) Fox, Louis Fox, and Amaya Fox; her sisters, Sally Peña, Sue (James) Beitia, and Laurie (Terry) Serpa; her brother, Tom Beitia; her father- and mother-in-law, Ron and Evelyn Fox; her sister- and brother-in-law, Cori (Ian) Hamilton and Greg Fox; and nieces and nephews, Dusty (Myllissa) Peña, Ana Peña, Teri (Nate) Taylor, Bruce Hamilton, Chase Hamilton, and Kirstey Brown; and several great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her nephew, Eric Kinghorn; and her brother-in-law, Rudy Peña.

At Mary's request, a celebration of life will be held at a later date, with details from her family forthcoming. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made for scholarships or emergency support for students through the Tacoma Community College Foundation: Make A Gift: Tacoma Community College (tacomacc.edu).