Alan Fox, RIP

 

All,

Back in the day when I was an impressionable young student at Cal and learning how to play squash, Alan Fox was one of many mentors who served as role models that ultimately revealed to me how the game should be played. 

Through the years while playing league matches and during tournament weekends, his game that was on display showed me that a squash match was much more than just a personal battle; it’s rule-bounded nature made it a “gentlemen’s game” complete with a set of codes that one had to apply whenever disputes arose that needed to be resolved during play.

Resolutely imploring to the presiding referee, “Let!”. “No Let!!”, “Appeal!!!!” was very much part of the lexicon of players during a match.  

Throughout the many years of my playing career, I witnessed and have been involved in my share of disputes!

But I can say assuredly that the most important lesson learned was one of how one resolved disputes during matches that WERE NOT refereed; a sense of fair play developed over time that, come what may, a resolution of the dispute was at hand and play continued. Win or lose, a handshake with your opponent was the parting gesture before leaving the court.

In this day and age of “cancel culture”, such deportment, a defining aspect of squash and so simple, needs to be revived back into our lives.

One of the many lessons I learned from squash that was bestowed to me by Alan.

With gratitude,

John

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ALAN LOOMIS FOX

Alan L. Fox passed away one day shy of his 82nd birthday on April 4, 2024 after a brief stay at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. 

Alan was born in Glens Falls, New York to Martha Loomis and Alan Fox. His father died 2 1/2 months before Alan was born. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, received his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of California School of Law (Boalt Hall) in Berkeley, CA. He was a member of the California State Bar, Idaho State Bar and the U. S. Supreme Court Bar Association. 

His professional career began in Idaho working as a law clerk for Chief Justice E.B. Smith on the Idaho Supreme Court. He practiced law in San Francisco and Los Angeles before landing in Long Beach in 1983 as Vice President & General Counsel for Petrolane, Inc. in Signal Hill where he met his wife, Cheryl. Alan worked for several corporations after Petrolane was sold, and retired in 2012.Always involved in serving, 

Alan was class secretary for Phillips Academy Andover and Stanford University, and served on the boards of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Foundation, Leadership Long Beach, Rancho Los Cerritos, as well as the Long Beach Airport Advisory Commission and the Long Beach Planning Commission.

He enjoyed running 10Ks in his 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, fishing as a young man in Canada with his grandfather and in Boise, Idaho with his stepfather, hiking in the Sierras and Maine, where has brother had a summer home; playing baseball, tennis and squash. 

For the past 15 years he has participated in a Fantasy Baseball league with a long time friend and began studying the players and their stats as soon as the magazine was published. 

He was one of a handful of men that attended the Literary Women event in Long Beach because of his love of books. 

His extensive travels included visits to Canada, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Scotland, South Africa, Nova Scotia, Cyprus, Japan, South America, Poland, China, Mexico, France, Holland, Italy and nearly every one of the 50 states in the USA.

He rediscovered the game of squash while at U.C. Berkeley at the beginning of law school. (Becoming a ranked A and A VET player - John). He began a lifelong flirtation with the game eventually becoming president of the U.S. Squash Racquets Association.

He was constantly curious, an avid reader, enjoyed gardening, engaged every person he met in conversation whether he knew them or not, and stayed in contact with the many friends he made in every aspect of his life. 

During the past 8 years it was Rancho Los Cerritos that gave him total joy. He was a member of the board, worked on different committees, and headed up the Board Development Committee. He went through the garden docent training to have knowledge of what was planted there. He would walk the gardens alone or with docents to learn more and share what information he had. The front yard of his home had an English garden feel to reflect his east coast upbringing and ancestry. His backyard had a tropical atmosphere to reflect his wife’s Hawaiian birthplace.

More important than all of these details was the fact that Alan was a presence. Anyone who was lucky enough to discover him did not forget him.Alan is survived by his wife, Cheryl; brother-in-law Dennis Scott; sister-in-law Alison Fox, 8 nieces, 4 nephews and many loving grandnieces and nephews.A celebration of Alan’s life is planned for a future date.

Click here to Send Flowers to the family of ALAN LOOMIS.

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Related Link:

California Squash Legend Alan Fox Dies