Kenneth Fox

Kenneth Fox, Bainbridge Island, died at home on Dec. 30 of mesothelioma. He was 79.

He was born on Jan. 18, 1929, the second son of Herman and Gussie Fox, and grew up in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. He was educated atthe University of Michigan and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served 23 years in the U.S. Navy as a naval engineer, retiring in 1974 as a captain. He then worked at Richland, Wash., on energy projects and in the Puget Sound area as a naval engineer beginning in 1983. He worked for Art Anderson Associates until 1996 and then as an independent consultant, specializing in ferry design, construction and operation, as well as high-speed ferry design.

He was a communicant of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island. He played the bagpipes in several pipe bands and belonged to several professional naval engineering societies. His other joys were gardening, history, and the cultures of Scotland and Norway.

His was preceded in death by his first wife, Jane Swift Fox, in 1991, and his second wife, Jeannette Love Fox, in 2005.

He is survived by two children from his first marriage, Christopher Fox of Woodinville and Elizabeth Fox and her husband Gerhard Nicklas, of Kastl, Germany and Taos, New Mexico; his brother Kal in Connecticut; several nieces and nephews; his frequent companion and dear friend Joan Collins; and Fergus, his Shetland Sheep dog, who was his constant companion.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 9 at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. Inurnment will follow at the church cemetery. A reception will be held in the church hall. His favorite charities were World Vision, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Northwest Harvest, and The Humane Society. An online guest book is at www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.