To see the crowd that packed Mission Santa Clara on Friday to celebrate the life of Michael E. Fox Sr. was to understand a lot about who he was. The Saratoga resident, who died Nov. 3 at age 87, was a businessman, a husband, a political influencer, a dad, a philanthropist, a man of faith and — he would want said — a recovering alcoholic who shared his story to help others.
The Rev. Peter Pabst — who celebrated the Mass along with several other clergy including Bishop Oscar Cantú — said Fox’s priorities were four “Fs”: faith, family, friend and philanthropy. “He supported causes that would lift others up,” Pabst said. “Generosity was an understatement.”
Attendees stand as the casket of Michael E. Fox Sr. enters Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Fox was born in 1936 in Chicago and earned a degree in brewing science before he discovered he’d do better selling beer than making it. He brought his new wife, Mary Ellen Fox, to California where he started his career in the beer business. And in 1965, they bought a small beer distribution company in Santa Clara County and grew it into M.E. Fox & Co., expanding from 10 employees to more than 200. After 50 years in business, the Fox family sold the company to two other distributors in 2015. His desire to help others, however, outlasted the business.
Michael E. Fox, Jr. led his younger five siblings in delivering eulogies, conceded his dad had flaws — including a temper that could rival Gen. George Patton — but said they didn’t define his life.
“In my dad’s case, he used those weaknesses to improve the world around him,” Fox said. “He turned perfectionism into mentoring nonprofit leaders and helping them to be successful. He channeled his temper into righteous anger as he stood up for those who were discriminated against, including the LGBTQ community, the Sikh community and Muslims after 9/11 and the Asian community fighting political persecution.”
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He had a deep sense in social justice, his son said, and …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
