Dale Norman Fox

a resident of Bainbridge Island for 60 years, died Jan. 29, 2009, at Hospice Care Center in Bremerton. He was 82 years of age.He was born Jan. 8, 1927, in Yakima to Norman and Esther (Strong) Fox. The family moved to Seattle when he was a toddler, and lived for a time during the Depression with his grandparents in a houseboat on Lake Union, long before houseboats were fashionable. He attended the now-defunct Lincoln High School, graduating early, in the winter of 1943, at the age of 17. A few months later, he was drafted by the Army and sent to Camp Hood, near Killeen, Texas. There he volunteered for parachute school, because, he said, "it seemed like a glamorous thing to do." He was sent to Fort Benning, Ga., where he made about 12 jumps.He left Fort Benning as a corporal and was sent directly to Germany. He was on a ship on the Atlantic Ocean when VE Day arrived, ending the war in Europe. He landed in Bremerhaven, Germany, and was stationed in Frankfurt, which was devastated by the war and where, he said, a German citizen was rarely seen and where he and his fellow soldiers thought mostly about going home. A few years later, he was discharged out of Fort Lewis and returned to his girlfriend, Jeanne Maureen Trombley, whom he had dated at Lincoln High School. They were married on April 10, 1948 in Ballard, with a reception at the Edmond Meany Hotel in the University District. They moved to Crystal Springs on Bainbridge after their wedding, because they wanted to be near the water to use the one-cylinder inboard boat that Dale's grandfather had built for their wedding present.When they moved to the island, it was decidedly rural, and known as being a stylish place for Seattle residents' summer homes. In 1964, The Seattle Times wrote an article about the family - newsworthy because they lived on the island year-round. His parents also moved to Bainbridge, where his mother opened Esther's Fabrics, which still operates today in downtown Winslow.After the service, Dale went to work at the Seattle architectural firm of John W. Maloney, where his father worked as an architectural illustrator. Dale was paid 25 cents an hour, learning to draft. After six months, he was given a raise to $1 an hour.A couple of years later, Dale went to work at the architectural office opened by Bob Green of Bainbridge Island, who designed Wing Point Golf and Country Club. That office loaned Dale to SeaFirst National Bank where he designed check-writing stands.While working at SeaFirst, Dale met the owner of Seattle Bronze Company, an architectural metal design company located in lower Queen Anne. He worked for seven years as a sales representative before he bought the company, which he owned for another seven years. Seattle Bronze was known for building the Bubbleator in the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. The plexiglass sphere with a bronze frame functioned as an elevator carrying up to 150 people at a time between floors of what is now Key Arena until the 1980s, and was last reported to be serving as a greenhouse in a Des Moines residence.Dale sold the company to his partner in the summer of 1967 to pursue something different, and went to Tube Art Display Inc. of South Lake Union, provider of electrical advertising (such as neon signs), where he worked for 19 years, starting out as a sales rep and becoming general manager.Dale commuted to his work in Seattle with his car for 40 years. He and a group of five or six longtime friends played cards every morning.He was instrumental in the founding and building of the current Wing Point Golf & Country Club, serving as the second president in 1962-63. He was an avid hunter and fisherman for a time, and enjoyed family vacations each year in Lake Chelan and Okanogan County in Eastern Washington, taking long Jeep journeys through the coulees and mountains.He retired in 1986 at the age of 59, and took up other interests, including wood working and photography. In 1991, he and Jeanne built a home near Phoenix, Az., where they lived every winter for 10 years until Jeanne died in April 2001.He was known for his love of driving (often referred to as "out on patrol"), and his Crystal Springs neighborhood, where he often could be seen taking his evening cocktail on the deck in his bathrobe.He was preceded in death by his wife and sister.He is survived by his daughters, Penny (Tom) Lamping and Becky Fox Marshall, all of Bainbridge Island; grandchildren Kate (Jeremy) Brown of Bainbridge Island, David (Christin) Lamping of Seattle, Abby Marshall of Las Vegas, Nev., and Claire Marshall of St. Paul, Minn.; numerous nieces and nephews; and his great-granddaughter, Lucy Rebecca Lamping Brown of Bainbridge Island - the last person to whom he spoke and for whom he smiled.The family wishes to thank the staff at Hospice Care Center of Kitsap County in Bremerton for their compassionate care. There will be a private family gathering Feb. 10. Arrangements are under the direction of Cook Family Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island. Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Kitsap County, P.O. Box 3416, Silverdale WA 98383.