Paul Hay Fox Jr, 64, passed away suddenly on April 22, 2026, from anaphylaxis due to systemic mastocytosis. An autoimmune condition Paul lived with for 30 years.

Paul was born on July 4, 1961 to Paul Hay Fox Sr. and Geraldine Lee Depp on a military base in Kenitra, Morocco, Africa. Paul was the eldest of 4, raised in Middletown and Creamridge, NJ, and eventually joined the Navy in 1980. He served 5 years as a Seabee and was stationed in Mississippi, Midway Island, Hawaii, Bermuda, and Oregon. After the Navy, Paul moved to Florida, gave his life to Jesus as his savior, and started attending Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg where he met and eventually married Ruth Marie Benedict in May of 1989. Paul and Ruth lived in St. Petersburg, FL and had 3 children; Megan, Kaitlin, and Paul III. They lived in Florida until 2011, when the family picked up and moved across country to San Juan Island, WA. In Florida, Paul was a carpenter and General Contractor, however, after relocating to Friday Harbor, he specialized in tile setting in the San Juan Islands. Paul cared deeply about his work; for him, it was a form of art and expression.

Paul was truly a character in every way. Nothing about Paul Fox was ever normal, which made him stand out to so many people in so many situations. His stories were never-ending, and he loved "conspiracy theories" and researching every theory to find the truth. He considered himself a Truth Seeker. He studied his Bible daily and tried very hard to lead a life that we referred to as the "higher ground," a life of Godliness, ethics, honesty, commitment, humor, and love.

His family meant more to him than anything else in the world. Paul and Ruth were terrified of becoming "empty nesters" because they enjoyed the company of their children. But after everyone moved out, Paul and Ruth returned to Florida in 2022, they purchased a fixer upper in Brooksville, and spent two years making the house everything they wanted for their retirement home.

The years of 2022 to 2025 were stressful and challenging for Paul and Ruth because of a family lawsuit over the estate of Ruth's parents. Paul took on the challenge of negotiating the details of the lawsuit and a settlement for his wife, so after everything was resolved, Paul and Ruth ended up as 50% owners of Cottages by the Sea, in Frederiksted, St Croix, in the US Virgin Islands, so they moved to St Croix in May of 2025 to run the business. As always, Paul rose to the challenge and became passionate about making the property and the business beautiful and successful. Unfortunately, it was while at the Cottages, that Paul went into anaphylactic shock and was not able to be revived.

Paul was predeceased by his father, Paul Sr. He is survived by his wife of almost 37 years, Ruth, his daughter Megan, her husband Paul, her children: Zachary, Emery and Avery; his namesake, Paul III, his wife Rebekah, and their two children: Violet and Ivy; his daughter Kaitlin and her husband, Austin; his siblings: Lydia, Mark, and Keith, along with their spouses and children; and his mother, Lee Fox. Paul is buried at San Juan Cemetery in Friday Harbor, WA per his request.