Gregg A. Fox Obituary
Gregg Alan Fox, 77, of Rockport, died at Addison Gilbert Hospital on July 26th from complications following a 29-year battle with oral head and neck cancer. A 38-year veteran of the advertising business, Gregg was creative director and writer for advertising agencies in Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Boston.
The first time Gregg Fox saw Rockport was in 1971 at the newly-opened Disney World. It was love at first sight. Inside the Disney Theater, visitors watched a "Circle Vision" film featuring spectacular scenes from coast to coast. Highlighted was Rockport Harbor on a perfect summer day. Gregg watched transfixed as a lobster boat moved past the breakwater into the inner harbor – Motif #1 straight ahead. "I love this place," he whispered to Martha, the girlfriend he had his arm around. "I grew up there," was her whispered response.
He would ultimately marry Martha and, after six years in Los Angeles and four years in Tokyo, spend almost five decades living in Rockport in a house that he designed and built on the footprint of the cottage that was initially a henhouse and then his wife's grandmother's summer place. They would raise two children there. They would grow old there and enjoy a rich and supportive lifetime love.
A native of Gary, Indiana, Gregg did his undergraduate work at Indiana University. He received a Master's degree in fiction-writing from the Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa.
His proudest creative achievement was the passive-solar house that he designed and built on a hill above Pasture Road.
Gregg was deeply attached to St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Rockport. There he led a service of Morning Prayer for more than 20 years before joining with faithful friends in a group that helped sustain him. For four decades he served as editor of the parish prayer list. He conceived and installed The Memory Walk in the church's Broadway courtyard. Gregg designed and maintained The Meditation Garden at St. Mary's. He also designed a meditation garden for St. James Episcopal Church – FDR's home parish – in Hyde Park, NY.
Gregg was devoted to his family. His steadfast, generous love grounded and encouraged them. His strength, energy, and optimism will continue to inspire them. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Martha; his son, Christopher "Kit" Fox of Essex, MA; and daughter, Emily Mansur Fox of Boston. He was pre-deceased by his brother, Arthur Dale Fox and his parents, Arthur and Dorothy. He never stopped missing his companionable Maine Coon cat, Pepper.
Gregg leaves behind a legacy of long friendships with good pals from every stage of his life. Get-togethers, emails and phone calls with them always brought him joy. He was especially grateful for his Rockport ROMEO friends who met each Friday for decades. He loved cooking and baking, even after swallowing disorders kept him from enjoying his culinary skills himself. He was thankful for the talented doctors, nurses and therapists at Massachusetts General Hospital who extended his life with their brilliant, compassionate care.
Gregg's home has a view of the Atlantic and the town breakwater – a sight he fully appreciated every day of the year. It is there, and in his Japanese garden, that his ashes will be scattered by his immediate family. There will be a blessing of the GAF stone in the Memory Walk on Broadway in Rockport. According to his wishes, no formal service will be held. A celebration of Gregg's life will occur every time someone tells a story or raises a glass in his name.
In keeping with his wishes, services will be private.
Memorial donations may be made to SPOHNC (Support for People with Oral Head and Neck Cancer), PO Box 53, Locust Valley, NY 11560-0053.
Arrangements by the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester.
