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Gertrude Ann Fox, 92

She was a wonderful spouse, mother, friend and community member.
[additional-authors]
January 19, 2021

October 20, 1928 – December 25, 2020

“It matters not what someone is born but what they grow to be,” said JK Rowling. Gitel Chana Fox was born SOOO good and SOOO happy and as she grew, she made others better and happier.

Gertrude Ann Fox, my wonderful mother, was born in Poland and grew up in Milwaukee, WI. She attended the University of Wisconsin and went on to be a teacher and an auditor. She moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1940s and married my father to whom she was married for 72.5 years. A Fox married a Fox. She was the youngest child of Rav Itzik Fox and Chana Fox and she is survived by her husband Gerson, three children (of her four) and two brothers.

Ben Franklin once wrote, “Well done is better than well said.” So true, as no matter what I say, it will not encapsulate how well done my mother’s life was.

She was a kind, modest and decent person, lovely and elegant, patient and powerful, inside and out. She was a sagacious counselor, trusted confidante and an active listener. She had a keen intuition and an eidetic sense of what everyone needed in the moment. She lived with passion, she had integrity and she was extremely loyal. She instilled a sense of confidence when she was around–it would all work out fine.

She was the first female to be Vice-President of an Orthodox shul. Rabbi Feinstein had to psak that so long as she didn’t want to sit on the bimah or get aliyahs, it was permissible; She was a delegate to the World Zionist Congress, and she was a national Vice-President of AMIT. She was always involved in sisterhood, PTA, Jewish education and philanthropy. She was all about “others.”

She was a wonderful spouse, mother, friend and community member. She taught by example as she led with her deeds. She had an infectious joy that went viral. Her good deeds were bounteous.

Amongst her compendium of aphorisms: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”; “Be the change you want the world to be”; “Repetition is the mother of success; “You can be anything you want to be, believe it and make it happen”; “It’s not if but when.” She loved pithy observations and she was supremely inspirational.

I never thought I would say these words but my wonderful mother, Gertrude Ann Fox has passed…I always took for granted that she would live forever with her magical spirit, energy, vim and vigor. She was pure magic; she knew how to make good of everything and make the bad vanish. Everyone with whom she interacted, felt special. She had that “gift.” Gertrude taught us how to be kind, how to live and how to advance. Everyone thought she was their best friend, that was her special brand of magic.

Jeremiah 29,11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

My mother provided me and my siblings a wonderful future. She was everyone’s biggest cheerleader. She told us that “imagine” was the most powerful word in the English language. She implored all of us to imagine what we could be and to believe it. Then she told us to imagine doing it even better and making the world a better place upon exit than entrance. She certainly accomplished that.

JRR Tolkien wrote, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

We traveled around the world together, we went to sporting events, theater, concerts, parades…parties and dinners. We spent lots of time watching movies and discussing them in detail. What did they mean, what was really going on…? We went to book clubs and museums; we listened to music and we wrote poetry.

We, as a family, raised money for important causes…We were always learning and living, donating our time and resources as that is what she did. Gertrude said the most interesting people are interested people. Our family discussions around the dining room table were electric. Gertrude was determined to make every moment of her time count and insisted we do the same. She always said that the most important decisions we make are how we spend our time and with whom.

People like to say, “this too shall pass” but it’s hard to imagine that being true, as my mother was everything to me.

Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand. Gertrude knew success comes before work only in the dictionary. Moreover, she loved life and her journey resonated with purpose. During good times, during rough times, she remained positive and optimistic and “did” much more than she “said.”

I am fortunate to be her son and it’s an honor to call her my mother. I love her more than words can capture. It would take a lifetime to describe all of the special memories I shared with her.

Hopefully in time, what now makes me sad will soon make me smile as I’m reminded of the most precious gift that I ever received, the time I spent with my amazing mother, Gertrude Ann Fox. May G-d elevate her soul.

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