Chester Fox, 88, of Buckeye Lake, died June 20, 2006, at Arlington Care Center, Licking Co. He was born Dec. 26, 1917, in Bremen to the late Edwin W. and Louetta (Francisco) Fox. His parents' last family home was on a farm on Rt.#5, Rushcreek Twp., later known as 6910 Ireland Rd. in North Berne. They didn't have much money. The older children said when they were little, they had to walk everywhere, or their parents would hitch up the horse & buggy to go into Lancaster. Later the family got their first automobile that they called, "the machine".
Sometimes their family would catch the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley train in North Berne at Collins Chapel. They went to church there & many of their family members are buried at that cemetery, but all the structures where families gathered are gone with the loss of the train. The family also attended Rushville Methodist Church.
The kids attended College Hill School and then Rushville High School. They went square dancing, played ball & went fishing. They popped popcorn & played the old phonograph. They'd listen to their radio shows. On a Saturday night, their Dad's brother, Walter, used to come out & play the fiddle, and their Dad whistled & played the harmonica, or 'juice harp" as he called it. A lot of people would come to hear them play.
Chet married Irma Lavender on 3-25-1946. They lived in Buckeye Lake. He retired after 36 years of service from Owens-Corning Fiberglas, where he had worked in the shipping department. He attended the Buckeye Lake First Community Church.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Irma; two daughters, Sharon (John) Wallace of Newark and Irma (William) Watkins of Heath; three sons, Gerald "Lee" (Kaye) Lavender of Delaware, Chester "Bill" (Linda) Fox of Newark and Charles "Chuck" (Coleen) Fox of Newark; 10 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; a brother, Doid Fox of Lancaster; a sister, Mabel (Gold) Evans of Lancaster; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by five brothers, Ralph, Floyd, Russell, Cecil and Henry Fox; four sisters, Viola Eby, Lilly Spires, Gladys Weaver and Helen Drumm.
Services for Mr. Fox will be at 10 a.m. Friday, June 23, at the Newark Chapel of Henderson-Van Atta Funeral & Cremation Service with Paster David Moody Officiating. Burial will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery in Lancaster.
He will be buried near his parents & he is one of nine siblings here.