Nancy Ellen Fox
Nancy Fox—panther mom, intellectual powerhouse, builder of social bridges, avid traveler, high-powered career woman, tennis champion, feared scourge of late-fee imposers, and beloved wife and sister—passed from this realm on May 24, 2023, of ovarian cancer. She was 68.
Nancy was born on June 30, 1954, in Montclair, NJ, to David Lowell Fox and Shirley Phillips Fox. She joined two older siblings, Sally and David. When Nancy was two, the family moved to New Canaan, CT, where she spent her elementary-school and junior-high years. In 1967, the Foxes relocated to Pennington, NJ.
After two years of high school, Nancy, restless and independent-minded, left home to attend “early college” at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA, at age 16. She spent three years there, earning her high-school diploma and two years of college credit. In 1974 she and her brother, David, relocated to Seattle, where Nancy earned her BA in urban planning at the University of Washington.
Nancy began her career as a policy analyst for the King County Council, and then moved to a similar job with the Seattle City Council. She was a star, eventually getting tapped by the Department of Construction and Land Use, where she wound up running the permitting department. After leaving city employment, she spent several years as a planning consultant with Cedar River Associates, finally tapering and then retiring in about 2010.
Meanwhile, she met editor and jazz pianist Nick Allison, whom she married in 1986. They had two children: Fox (originally known as Katie) in 1988 and Nora in 1991. Nancy, the inveterate plate-spinner, was deeply involved with her kids’ lives and activities as they grew up on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill—advocating, advising, adoring, and planning and executing elaborate parties and trips. Nancy was also a poster child for the sandwich generation, taking superb care of both her parents as they aged, sickened, and passed, David in 1999 and Shirley in 2018.
In 2009 Nancy and Nick purchased their dream property on Guemes Island, eventually building a home there and making it their principal residence, though they kept a Seattle apartment. Nancy threw herself into Guemes life with her usual unstoppable gusto, becoming a key figure in island land-use planning; planting hundreds of trees and shrubs on their property to create two forest-restoration areas and a gorgeous garden; and building a large network of devoted friends.
A lover of travel, over the years she relished trips to Japan, Nepal, Portugal, Costa Rica, the Danube, Turkey, Italy, Hawaii, and several spots in Mexico. She also became an avid tennis player in midlife, helping her team place second at the national championships in 2015.
In June 2019 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For the next four years, fighting the disease became the principal organizer of her life, as well as of Nick’s. No one could have battled harder than she did. After uncountable ups and downs, hundreds of doctor visits and treatments, and untold miseries (as well as many bright spots along the way), she decided this February to forgo further treatment. The disease claimed her at 3:30 am on May 24 at Island Hospital in Anacortes. The previous afternoon, she came home from five days in the hospital and spent a wonderful hour taking in her garden and beloved property.
She is survived by her husband, Nick; their two children, Fox (Jayson Radmer) and Nora (Matt Johnson); her siblings, Sally Fox (Steve Brown) and David Fox (Diana Wilmar); and a panoply of extended family and dear friends. Arrangements were in the care of Earth Funeral. Memorial-service plans are underway. Donations may be made in her name to the Skagit Land Trust or the charity of your choice.
