Richard Howard Fox

The Funeral Service for Richard Fox will be available for live-streaming at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, October 4th via the following link: https://www.cbnaishalom.org/livestream.html

WORCESTER - Richard Fox, 70, died on October 2 at home after a long battle with cancer. The world lost an amazing spirit, a kind, gentle, joyful, creative, beautiful person who loved his family, his dogs, his many friends and poetry. His legacy will continue long after his passing.

Richard was born in Newton, Massachusetts and lived in Worcester for most of his life. He attended Worcester Academy, graduating in 1970. He went on to Webster University in St. Louis, a place that had a profound influence on him. Webster had a thriving arts community, and it was there that he discovered his passion for poetry. He was a poet for most of his life, publishing 9 books. Richard became an involved and active Webster alumnus and was honored for his alumni work with the Elizabeth Newell Loyalty Award in 2023.

After college, Richard returned to Worcester. In the late 1970s he worked in the family business, Worcester Quality Foods. In 1991, Richard started A&D Cold Storage, a subzero warehousing and distribution business.

Richard always had a passion for music. He had a radio show called CrossTracks on WCUW, a public radio station in Worcester. He enjoyed playing an eclectic mix of music and brought artists into the studio to play live and talk about their work.

In 2010, Richard was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Cancer became his constant companion. He always had a positive attitude and was beloved by the medical professionals who cared for him. He was a unique patient who defied all odds. Richard was a great mentor to other cancer patients, participating in a variety of on-line cancer groups and supporting patients who were going through treatment. In his poetry, Richard wrote about cancer in a very honest and direct way.

Richard loved the active and thriving poetry community in Worcester. The Worcester County Poetry Association became a big part of his life. He loved performing poetry and was often a featured poet. In 2017 Richard was honored by the poetry community in Worcester with the Frank O'Hara Poetry Prize.

Richard adored his family. He and his wife, Dr. Ann Merritt, shared 45 years of marriage. Their love endured through the great times and also the difficult times of his illness. Richard leaves two wonderful sons and daughters-in-law, Daniel Fox and his wife Beatriz and Adam Fox and his wife Jennifer. He was a joyful grandfather to Calvin and Noah. Richard is also survived by his brother Alan and his wife Lynne and a sister Renee Gould and her husband Marshall. His parents, Rosalyn and Melvin Fox predeceased him.

Richard's funeral will be held at Congregation B'nai Shalom, 117 East Main Street, Westboro on Wednesday October 4 at 12:00 PM followed by interment at Beit Olam East in Wayland. A reception will follow back in Westboro at the synagogue. Shiva will be in Worcester at the Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury St. Worcester on Thursday October 5 from 4-8 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Richard's memory may be made to Dana Farber Cancer Institute at http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/richardfox or the Worcester County Poetry Association at https://worcestercountypoetry.org/support-wcpa

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