Roll Call Tribute

Junius Bost Fox, Jr.
March 9, 1923 – January 13, 2022

Junius Bost Fox, (J.B.), 98 passed away on January 13, 2022, in Nassau Bay, TX. He was born March 3, 1923, in Newberry, SC to Marie and Junius Fox, Sr.

As a young child, JB resided in Newberry, SC until the family relocated to various cities throughout Texas and Arkansas allowing his father, a registered pharmacist to secure employment during the Great Depression years.

He graduated from Little Rock Senior High School in Little Rock, AR in 1940, with relocation to the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area the same year.

JB was accepted to Rice University, however financial circumstances led to his enrollment at Texas A&M University. In 1943 during his junior year, he was drafted into the Army.

Military intake testing revealed an IQ of 165, therefore he was recommended for Officer Candidate School (OCS). Due to his unique ability to correctly copy morse code at a high rate of speed, he made the decision to forego OCS and enter the Signal Corps as a non-commissioned officer. Once his basic combat (BCT) training was completed at Fort Monmouth, NJ he was transferred to the Pentagon in Washington, DC where he was assigned to work on the installation of the War Department’s radio transmitter site in Alexandria, VA.

Due to his expertise in radio triangulation and Japanese code, he was assigned to a composite regiment command in the 17th Signal Service Company as a Chief Engineer Radio Operator and was shipped overseas. He was engaged in the New Guinea campaign and the retaking of the Philippines in Leyte and Luzon. JB was awarded four Bronze Stars for his Asiatic-Pacific campaign contributions. One such Bronze Star was awarded for volunteering his sharpshooter expertise, which was outside his scope of duties as a radio operator, to locate and neutralize an enemy sniper during the Leyte invasion.

At the conclusion of WWII, JB completed his education, receiving a BS in Physics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX with post-graduate studies at Dallas University and NTSU.

His first job out of college was at Baylor University Hospital in the Research Department, where he trained graduate students on use of the electron microscope and investigated the potential future medical use of ultrasound. The highlight for this position was being asked to attend the American Medical Convention in Atlantic City, NJ to present his design model of the human body’s antigen-antibody reaction.

Prior to his relocation to Nassau Bay, he held various engineering positions with Braniff International Airways, Lockheed, and Texas Instruments.

JB married Virginia VanWinkle on April 24, 1953 in Dallas, TX. They relocated to Nassau Bay in 1962, when he became employed as a Reliability and Quality Engineer by Manned Spacecraft Center, now known as the NASA Johnson Space Center. He was certified as a Quality Engineer by the American Society for Quality Control and recognized for his contributions towards the Gemini and Apollo missions from 1963 – 1972.

He retired from NASA- JSC in 1985 after 23 years of service. Once “officially retired,” JB became an independent engineering consultant for Pan-AM and Stewart and Stevenson Inc. and enjoyed global travel excursions with his wife, Virginia.

Affiliations/Honors and Awards

Space Center Rotary – President 2005-2006, Sgt. at Arms, Secretary, Director; Paul Harris Fellow

NARFE (National Association of Retired Federal Employees) – President, District Representative, Service Officer; received the first annual Margaret Goodwin Memorial Service Award

Scottish Rite – Grand Lodge of Texas Clear Lake, TX; Master Mason; received “Golden Trowel” award in 2001 for consistent demonstration of outstanding exemplary community service

Shriner

VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) – Post 15045

Clear Lake Regional Hospital – Volunteer; 5,000 service hours; Dr. Frist Humanitarian Award – 1992

HOSTS (Help One Student Succeed) – Mentor

Nassau Bay Planning/Zoning Commission

Nassau Bay Volunteer Fire Department – Captain Medical Rescue Unit

ARRL (American Radio Relay League) – Amateur Ham Radio Operator

JB was notably a man of multiple talents. There was nothing he could not master when he decided to embark upon a new hobby. He was an avid amateur ham radio operator who obtained his radio license at the age of 13 and an exceptionally talented self-taught artist. He continued his sketching and painting until his departure.

JB was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia in 2002. He is survived by the many friends and acquaintances he encountered through his involvement in community service centered organizations.

Funeral services will take place at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church of Nassau Bay, 18300 Upper Bay Rd. Houston, TX 77058 on Tuesday January 18, 2022, at 11:00 am. Interment at Forest Park East Cemetery in the Veteran’s Garden of Valor will occur at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to one of the organizations in which JB Fox was a member.