Lasting Memories

Beatrice Fox
Oct. 30, 1918-March 15, 2011
Atherton, California

Born in San Francisco Oct. 30, 1918, she died peacefully on March 15, 2011.

Known as Missy to her friends, her early years were spent in Juneau, Alaska where her father, John F. Mullen, ran the B.M. Behrends Bank, established by her grandfather in 1891. During high school, she would travel by steam ship from Alaska to San Francisco each year to attend Convent of the Sacred Heart Atherton. Her first two years of college were at Dominican College in San Rafael then she transferred to San Francisco College for Women (Lone Mountain - USF) where she graduated with a degree in history.

Living and working in San Francisco during WWII, Missy met her husband-to-be Robert B. Fox while he was on leave from duty as Lt. Commander on the U.S.S. Spence, one of three destroyers sunk in a typhoon in 1944. They married in 1946 and settled on the Peninsula in Menlo Park and later Atherton, where they had a son and three daughters.

After the children were raised, she served on the Board of Directors of her family's bank until it was sold in 1989. She also was a member of the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton and was involved with its evolution from a women's school to one of the best co-educational prep schools on the west coast. Her late aunt, Reverend Anna Mullen RSCJ was President of Barat College Lake Forest from 1929 to 1931.

She later continued her life-long dedication to Sacred Heart Schools through her volunteer work at Oakwood of the Sacred Heart and involvement with alumni activities. She also volunteered in the Chaplain's office of the Stanford University Medical Center for a number of years. She was a longtime member of the Menlo Circus Club and the Town & Country Club of San Francisco.

Her devotion to her Catholic religion was reflected in her relationships with her friends and family. She will be remembered as a true lady and a true friend, and mostly as a loving mother to her four children.

Preceded in death by her husband Robert B. Fox and her son, Robert B. Fox, Jr., she leaves behind three daughters: Anne Gruening (Winthrop) of Juneau, Alaska, Peggy Marlatt (John) of Lake Forest, Illinois, Molly Shamir of Tiburon, California. She also leaves five grandchildren: Robert Gruening, Caroline Gruening Vines, Anne Shamir, Daniel Shamir and Maya Shamir. They all adored "Mama."