Hubert (Hub) William Fox passed away on May 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 76.
Hub was born July 21, 1947, to Maymie and Myron Fox in Coos Bay, Oregon. He is preceded in death by his parents as well his sisters, Elsie Updegrove, Rayna Smiley, Lira Owen, Myronelle Fox, and his brother, Leroy Fox.
Hub grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. His father was a Chief Engineer in the U.S. Coast Guard. When his father retired in 1958, the family moved to Granger, Utah. Hub attended Valley Junior High and Granger High School; he was on the swim team and graduated in the class of 1965. He worked on a commercial fishing boat off the Oregon & California coast for a few summers in high school.
In January 1966 he enlisted in the Navy as a Seabee. He went to boot camp in San Diego and attended Builder A school at Port Hueneme. SERE training took place at Whidbey Island, Washington prior to departure for Danang, Vietnam. On arrival in Vietnam, the Chief of Personnel at Camp Tien Sha assigned Hub to Special Services to build a hobby shop at the station hospital in Danang and a house on their charter fishing boat. He worked at the gymnasium in China Beach and then a recreation pavilion on the highest sand dune in China Beach. He was then assigned to the Naval Air Station in Rota, Spain in September of 1967.
After his active service was complete in September 1969 he returned home to Utah. He met Ellen Wright at Snow College on a blind date for the Homecoming Dance. They were engaged by the fall of 1970 and married on April 16, 1971. They purchased a home in Bennion, UT (now Taylorsville) in 1973, where they raised their two daughters, Theresa and Tiffany, and have lived the rest of their lives. Hub was known to his friends as “Oobie,” and he and Ellen had a close circle of friends who played cards and went camping, hunting, and vacationing together, in addition to an annual holiday dinner and family progressive dinner.
Hub spent his adult years working in the transportation industry, first at Wykoff as a dispatcher, then at Wall Street Transportation for nearly 25 years, first as a driver and later as the operations manager. In his retirement, he also drove for Willow Transportation. Hub’s call sign was “Desert Fox,” and he loved driving, whether it was a short delivery across town or a long haul across many states.
His family and friends remember him as a caring dad, grandfather, uncle, and a kind and generous friend. Hub loved adventures in the outdoors, particularly going on road trips and going camping in his RV. He also enjoyed playing cards, fishing, golfing, reading science fiction novels, and traveling to the Oregon Coast, especially for Fox Family reunions. Hub had a special place in his heart for his grandsons, Max and Jack, whether he was watching them play baseball or basketball, or taking them on adventures like ATVing, fishing, golfing, and snowmobiling. A few special moments in his life included his stint as a volunteer shuttle driver for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, as well as his participation in May 2023, in an “Honor Flight” for veterans to Washington, DC with his daughter, Tiffany, and his best friend, Jeff and Jeff’s son Andy.
He will be remembered for his fun stories around the campfire, whiskey sour in hand, as he talked about his “nine lives”; his love for peanut butter & crackers and his willingness to help anyone who needed it. Nearly everyone who knows him has had his help at some point with a move, or a repair on the side of the road, or help with whatever needed doing. The humble, hardworking Seabee motto of “Can Do” was a perfect description for how Hub lived his life.
Hub is survived by his wife of 53 years, Ellen (Wright) Fox, his daughters, Theresa Fox and Tiffany Fox, son-in-law David Brubacher, grandsons Max and Jack Brubacher and pups Murphy, Pippa & Baylee.
A celebration to honor Hub’s life will be held at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 S. 900 E. Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 3:00 until 5:00 PM. Guests are encouraged to use the parking and entrance provided on the north side of the building.
