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(Veteran, Craftsman & Friend To Many)
Thomas “Tom” P. Fox, age 76, of Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, passed away peacefully, Friday, May 22, 2026, at Edgewood Manor Care Center, Port Clinton, Ohio.
Tom was born Jan. 24, 1950, in Toledo, Ohio, to the late Harold Henry and Anna Eva (Adams) Fox.
In his early childhood, Tom lived in Sylvania, Ohio, before he and his parents and family moved to Marblehead, Ohio, where they built by hand their lakeside home and he spent the remainder of his life living in that home and caring for his parents.
Tom was a lifelong mechanic and skilled mantel, grandfather and grandmother clockmaker.
Without formal training, he excelled at small engine repair and was well known in the Marblehead, Johnson’s Island, and Lakeside area for his repair of all types of marine and outboard engines.
Known for his ingenuity, Tom often designed and fabricated parts from scratch and found solutions to mechanical problems that others considered impossible or impractical to repair.
He was also an expert pyrotechnic developer and implementer. Tom was an Army Vietnam War veteran and served in communication and radio operation while stationed in Alaska, supporting remote communications relay sites associated with Alaska’s White Alice communications network (WACS).
Tom enjoyed perch and crappie fishing with his father, mother, brothers, sisters, and their families on Lake Erie his entire life.
Survivors include his sister, Rose Marie Hites, of Sylvania, Ohio; his brother, David H. Fox, Sr., of Stryker, Ohio. Uncle Tom is also survived by many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. Tom is additionally remembered and survived by close friends Robert and Patricia Kerezsi, of Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio; Wally Grinnell, Sr., of Port Clinton, Ohio; and his devoted caretaker, Crystal Nguyen, of Sandusky, Ohio.
Tom is preceded in death by his parents, his brother, John Carl Fox, his sister, Arline (Fox) Gallagher, his brother, Harold Raymond Fox, his brother-in-law, Edwin Dean Hites and his sister-in-law, Carole Dee (Wheeler) Fox.
Graveside Committal Rites and Inurnment will be held Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11 a.m. in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Marblehead, Ohio. Rev. Father Joseph Szybka will officiate. Military graveside honors will be accorded by the Marblehead VFW and American Legion Post and the Active-Duty Army Honor Guard.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: St. Joseph Catholic Church, 822 Barclay Street, Marblehead, Ohio 43440.
Online condolences may be made at: www.krillfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to: Krill Funeral Home, Bryan, Ohio.
