Fox, Arthur Dale, devoted husband of Rina Paterno, died peacefully Feb. 18, 2017 surrounded by family. He was 96. He will be remembered for his wit, courage and strength; for his devotion to God, family and country; and for his meat loaf, mashed potatoes and love of fine wine. Standing tall until his final days, Arthur proved, "smooth runs the water where the brook is deep."
Handsome, debonair, and sophisticated, Arthur also embraced and shared throughout his life the homespun wisdom of small town America where he grew up.
Born Jan. 4, 1921, at home on Mt. Pleasant Street in Greensburg, Penn, Arthur is the second son of Cyrus Keener Fox and the former Etta May Jacoby. One of five brothers, he graduated from Bellevue High School in 1939 and attended University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a B.S. in petroleum engineering in January 1943.
The Navy recruited and commissioned him as an officer in March 1943. In May, he married the former Marguerite Enrietti, who died in 1979. During World War II, the Navy deployed him to the Pacific as an ensign. His only son, Dale Arthur Fox, was born in February 1944. Dale died in 2012.
Arthur patrolled the oceans off Cuba, Panama, Pearl Harbor and the Marshall Islands, part of a flotilla of 36 ships. After leaving the Navy in 1945 as a Lieutenant Senior Grade, he worked as a petroleum engineer for Husky and Sun oil companies, moving his family to Henderson, Kentucky in 1948. In 1961, Lewis Engineering asked him to open a satellite office in Long Beach, and he moved his family to Rossmoor, becoming an original owner in Orange County's first planned community.
With a front row seat on the nation's oil boom, he often told stories about the hardscrabble lives of the workingmen in the fields. As a consultant to the city of Long Beach, Arthur authored the original study that led to the construction of the familiar islands off the Long Beach coast in the East Wilmington oil fields.
The advent and ease of jet travel prompted most oil companies to close their West Coast satellite offices, including Lewis Engineering. Instead of accepting a transfer to Dallas, Arthur launched a proprietary consulting firm with clients that included Husky Oil, Security Bank Los Angeles, and the City of Long Beach. He retired in 1976 to golf and spend more time with his family.
After their respective spouses died, Rina and Arthur were paired at the weekly bridge group they had joined in the 1960s. They married in 1980. With Rina, Arthur traveled the world and spent considerable time with his grandchildren, Kelli, Kevin, Rachel, Julia and Jamie. He was a proud member of the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, where he regularly dined with a group of friends Friday afternoons. He leaves behind Rina; brother, Charles; three step-children; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He lives on in the lessons of kindness, generosity, courage and humility that he taught those who loved him. "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow."
A memorial service will be held at noon Feb. 27 at Holy Family Cathedral, 566 S Glassell St., Orange, followed by a reception at the Elks Lodge, 212 Elk Lane, Santa Ana. A Sunday vigil and viewing will take place on Feb. 26 from noon to 2 pm at Brown Colonial Mortuary, 204 W 17th St., Santa Ana. In lieu of flowers, donate to , or to the Elks Lodge #794 Scholarship Fund. Please designate "Arthur Fox/ scholarship fund" in the check's memo line and mail to: Elks Lodge, 212 Elk Lane, Santa Ana. CA 92701 Attention: Scholarship Fund. - See more at: http://obits.ocregister.com/obituaries/orangecounty/obituary.aspx?n=arthur-dale-fox&pid=184248268&fhid=9249#sthash.eXrspGQA.dpufV
 

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