Blanch, the second child of Edward and Sarah, was born on November 14th, 1907. The family home on 1321 South 10th East was full, warm and filled with love. Blanch was a beautiful child, with blue eyes, naturally curly blonde hair, having a special place in her father’s heart. Blanch says that by nature, she was like her father, but by training, she was like her mother.

Blanch remembers the home at 155 Third Avenue, that was on the hill, with the large backyard. She and VaLois each had a pony and they would take those ponies up City Creek Canyon. She attended kindergarten and first grade there. When the school bell would ring, Blanch remembers running down the hill to get to the Lafayette school on North Temple. The family moved many times after that home, and Blanch didn’t make many friends because they didn’t stay in one place for very long. In 1918, age the age of 11, her family moved to Commonwealth Avenue. She went to McKinley School that was located at 1800 South State. In her eighth grade year, they transferred Blanch to the Madison School where Mr. C.P. Rockwood was the principal. At this time, she decided to sell stockings. Blanch felt that the desire to sell came from her father. She needed money to get samples and wrote to her father, asking for $50.00. Back came the money. He invested and was pleased to have Blanch go into business on her own! She stayed with this project for some time, keeping the family supplied with odds and ends of socks to wear from her samples.

Blanch was a gifted scholar and excelled in her studies. She maintained a straight A report card every time, until her junior year at Granite, when one of her teachers gave her a B+. Blanch was upset and went to talk with the teacher about the low grade. She told him that she had never had a grade lower than an A, having completed every assignment he had given and had never missed a question on the class tests. The teacher told Blanch that he had never given an A to any student in his years of teaching and did not intend to change this policy. Blanch then handed the teacher the course study book and said that if he would ask her any question in that book and she was able to answer it correctly, would he consider changing her grade to an A? The teacher agreed to do that.....needless to say, her grade was changed to an A. She graduated with straight A’s.

Blanch received her patriarchal blessing on February 9, 1923, given by John M. Whitaker, who was also her theology teacher at Granite. She was delighted with the promise that she should become a teacher. Shortly after this blessing was received, she was asked to teach a group of Trailbuilders in the Burton Ward Primary.

Another business that Blanch started was selling vegetables around the Commonwealth neighborhood. She would trudge in the dew of early morning, pulling a little red wagon, up to Grower’s Market on West Temple and 5th South, to buy produce. Then she pulled it home, where she washed it in the family bathtub, bundled it up, then went door-to-door selling it. She always had money.

She was an avid whistler, as well as a talented musician. She played the piano in the family trio, that included her sisters VaLois and Ruth. In later years, when visiting Blanch’s home, you could find her favorite songs on the piano marked with paper clips.

During her teen years, when her dates were coming, she would slick up the house until it gleamed--and to insure that it would stay that way she locked her family out of the front room until the date was over. She mowed the front lawn, then swept it with the kitchen broom until it was velvety-smooth. The family was very happy when Ross edged out the other "men in her life" and came into the family. Her siblings finally got to see what the front room looked like.

When Ross came home from his mission, he felt obligated to pay back the money he had borrowed from the Central Park Ward Elder’s Mission Fund before marrying. Blanch was also in debt, as she had purchased two fur coats, one for her Mother and the other for herself. In those days you put them away and then paid for them before you got them. So they decided that they had better get out of debt before they got married. It took them some time before they could get married. On September 18th, 1928, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. For their honeymoon, they took her mother’s Packard automobile, as well as her mother and sister Ruth. The four of them went camping in the Kiabab forest in Southern Utah. Ross recalls with laughter, that he was probably the only groom in the world that took his mother-in-law and sister-in-law with him on his honeymoon. VaLois also was with them in spirit, as she had confiscated Blanch’s nightgown and sewed it across the middle with the sewing machine, using the finest stitch on the machine so it would not be detected. Blanch tried to put it on in the dark at the camp, but was not able to do so. Upon returning from the honeymoon, they moved into their home on Commonwealth Avenue, across the street from her mother.

Soon, their babies began to arrive---all wonderful little souls, loved and cuddled by adoring aunts, uncles and a grandmother that lived across the street, the South’s had a close and happy contact with the new Foxs. S. Ross Fox Jr. arrived on Monday, July 28th, 1929, as the first child. When the South uncles left for marriage, school, work, etc. VaLois and Grandmother Sarah gave Ross one of his first jobs, he was paid 5 cents a mouse to empty the traps. He didn’t get rich, but usually could buy an ice cream cone whenever the wagon came around. Richard arrived on a Monday, August 31st, 1931. Richard started first grade, then became ill with blood poisoning. He missed 7 months of school so Blanch home taught him so that he would not fall behind his classmates. When he returned to school, he was ahead of his class. Because of his surpassing the others, his teacher had him tutor those that were lagging behind. Blanch, as a consummate promoter, started setting up concerts for the youthful Ross to play the violin, accompanied by Richard on the cello. The two young musicians performed through-out the State of Utah.

During her pregnancy with Joyce, Blanch spent a great deal of time in bed with complications. Ultimately, Joyce came to the Fox home on, yes.....you guessed it, Monday, the 29th of April, 1935. Bringing the miracle of a little girl into the family. She was a social plus, having many friends and doing many activities.

Blanch was ill and her doctor insisted that she not have any other children after Joyce. However, she ignored his advice and seven years later, Thomas S. was born March 11, 1942, this was a Saturday. Tom was the gifted student, with a penchant to have fun. Smiles came easy for him also. The next Fox to arrive was Charles, born on Thursday June 24th, 1943. At the time, Blanch was not able to produce milk, and Charles was not able to digest canned milk, so a friend of the family, Eulita Burton, who also had a small baby boy, volunteered to nurse Charles. She was called thereafter, Aunt Eulita. Many of the family feel that this is where Chuck got his size. The youngest family member was Jesse Edward, named for his two grandfathers, was born on Wednesday, February 25th, 1948. He was the human dynamo, filled with energy, laughter and witty pranks. Ed, like his mother, can recall hundreds of phone numbers at any given moment. Blanch and Ross also had John Yazzie come to live with them. He was from Tuba City, Arizonia and was placed with the Foxs through the Church Indian Placement Program. John would come for the winter and return home for the summer months. He was a year older than Ed, but in the same grade, making a significant bond between the two. The five years that John lived with the Foxs made him a vital part of their family and was loved by all.

Blanch was a natural teacher, instilling in her children the necessity of concentration, persistence, and study. In her home, there were sayings posted on the wall, examples to live by. You would find, "A thing worth doing is a thing worth doing well", or, "The shortest distance between two points is straight." She had many sayings, all of which were memorized, but she left them posted for others to see and reflect upon.

She loved the Church and devoted a great deal of her time in service to others. Her genealogy was prodigious, bringing many thousands of names into the Church. Her study habits were thorough, as her many Book of Mormons reflected her scholarly persistence, having dog-eared pages, marked scriptures, notes in the column (in her beautiful handwriting), cross references and notes from church authorities. She constantly took notes in meetings that she attended, She even took notes during the football, basketball and baseball games that she watched or listened to. Her greatest joy was transcribing the patriarchal Blessings that Ross had given. Blanch took on many assignments that required time, hard work and persistence. For example, she was in charge of the Building Fund for Haven Ward. She and Ross started the pilot program for Family Home Evening. The family treat after the home evening was referred to as "Hippity Hop". The General Authorities were very interested in her opinion and comments concerning this new program.

At her home, visitors were greeted with her warm, loving smile. Whenever someone needed a place to stay, there was always a bed. Blanch had the ability to make everyone feel welcome. She did this with her great sense of humor, that delighted all those that were around her. Looking into an almost empty refrigerator, family and visitors would wonder how she could possibly make a meal. She was creative and knew how to improvise, always producing a delicious meal. Many times, when guests arrived from out of town, she would take them on a guided tour of the interesting sights of Salt Lake, long remembered by her visitors. The couch in the living room was with Blanch and Ross for many years. In the final years, the springs were no longer valid, it was like sitting in a cave, you never knew when it would stop you. It took someone of athletic ability to get out of it. That was because their priorities were to use their finances for more important things like, tithing, building funds, missionary support, fast offerings, and other items of donation. She and Ross made it a point to attend the Temple with many loved ones and friends, no matter the age difference.

She held many positions in the Church: those being Primary Teacher, Mutual teacher, Sunday School teacher, Scouting, Genealogical Society, Stake Genealogical Board. She and Ross were set apart as Ward Missionaries, which entailed doing home teaching to everyone in the Ward. She was very excited about being the Committee Chairman for the Church Magazines. Blanch was also active in the Madison P.T.A. organization, serving as Vice President and later the President.

She and Uncle Ross were called on a Mission to Florida in May of 1967. Her Mission President was Elder Glen Rudd. She was called to organize primaries in the mission, which covered the entire state of Florida. She was also called to promote the Church magazines. It was not long after she was called to this position that President Rudd received a letter from the General Authorities telling him that his mission had surpassed all the other missions for the most Church Magazines sold. They returned home to Salt Lake in February of 1969.

Ross and Blanch continued to live on Commonwealth Avenue until the mid 1980’s, then moved to a condominium on West Temple and 2nd North, so they could be close to the Temple. They rented out their home on Commonwealth during this time. They resided at West Temple until Ross’s health began to deteriorate. They then moved to live with Joyce and T Buehner in their home. With this move, they sold their home on Commonwealth. Blanch, as well as T and Joyce cared for Ross until his passing in January of 1987.

Blanch continued to live with T and Joyce until she was diagnosed with cancer in 1990-91. She then took up residence at a convalescent center in Bountiful, Utah. When visiting with her, she would always greet you with that warm smile, and sparkle in her eye that said, "I am so glad you are here." When it was time to leave, she would always ask you to come back again. One time she was comforting her son Richard during a visit. She told him that she knew that with this cancer, every day she might die, but that she also knew that this could be the day that she could live and that is what she intended to do. She also told him that her patriarchal blessing told her to never give in to gloom or despair. She passed away on October 10th, 1993, at the age of 85 and eleven months.

She loved all of her family, in-laws, nieces, nephews, their children, her grandchildren, great grandchildren, the church, Temples, ice cream, and sugar cookies.