Fred "Fox" Bradshaw, beloved father and grandfather, devoted husband, and esteemed veteran, passed away on October 16, 2023, leaving a legacy of honor, love, and smart-ass comments. He was 98 years old.
Born on December 27, 1924, Fox lived a life marked by resilience, courage, and countless fish caught. He is survived by his four children, Tracy (Felicia), Bart, Todd (Rochelle), and Sally Soderberg (Craig); and three grandchildren, Phil, Max, and Rosie whom he cherished deeply, and told them all they were each his favorite when meeting in private. Fox met the love of his life, Katie, at the Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and their love story was a testament to enduring patience on the part of Katie. They were married for 64 remarkable years until Katie's passing in 2014, leaving behind a legacy of love and partnership. Fox was preceded in death by his wife, Katie and grandson, Jesse.
Fox served his country with distinction retiring as a Major in the US Marine Corps, dedicating 22 years of his life to the service of his fellow citizens. He was a decorated veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. Fox grew up with humble beginnings in Carmi, IL and if you asked him, he would honestly tell you that he didn't know what kind of future he would have had if he had never left. Thankfully, a friend of the family helped him the best way he could. He went behind Fox’s back and told his mom that he had got him enrolled at Millikin, and the rest is history.
Fox never spoke much about his time in the military, like most men of his generation. He was humble about his service. All we really know is that the Marine Corps taught him to be grateful for what you have and to not complain. Fox was proud of the time he spent in the Marines and is ever grateful for the G.I. Bill and the opportunities it provided him. Fox was not one to waste and took advantage of his free schooling to attend esteemed universities such as Millikin, Notre Dame, Cornell, Illinois State, Colorado College, Michigan (well, he isn’t proud of that one), and finally UCLA on his way to a Doctorate Degree in Education.
He leveraged his education to go on to work his way from a small-town teacher to Assistant Superintendent of Budget and Finance for the State Board of Education in Illinois. Fox loved to teach, and often said that the best way to judge if you really know a subject, is how well you can teach it to others. Always pragmatic, Fox found out that if you coached sports while teaching you could make some extra money, so he leveraged his background as a football and basketball player to coach for several high schools, but most notably Auburn High School. He was honored with the distinction of being enshrined to the Illinois High School Football Hall of Fame in 1982 along with a few undefeated seasons. He loved his players immensely and called many of them friends up until his last days.
Fox’s two greatest attributes had to be his fishing and storytelling abilities. Both, not surprisingly, improved with a few domestic beers. Fox knew every fishing hole in Central Illinois, including this accountant’s house in rural Illinois that we only maybe got "permission" from to fish at and had to wait until he went to work before we could sneak back and use the pond. He was famous for swearing that he wouldn’t even share his best fishing holes with his own mother, and the best way to ensure you never got invited back was to blab about where we caught the fish when we celebrated our success (or drowned our failures) at the VFW.
He had a way about him that he was somehow bigger than life. One thing he thought that helped him was he outlived almost everyone who could call him on his lies. But truthfully it is because he impacted an untold number of lives through his coaching and teaching, hosting countless fish fries, and seemed to find a way to connect with just about everyone. People always warn you to not meet your hero, but those poor folks just didn’t have the right hero.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Auburn Community Helping Hands, P.O. Box 74, Auburn IL, 62615, in Fox Bradshaw's honor, continuing his legacy of service and education, or at the very least buy a veteran a beer.
Family will host Services with Military Honors to be held Friday, May 17 at 11:00 AM at Camp Butler National Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to attend and pay their respects to a remarkable man who touched the lives of many. Friends and family may gather immediately following at VFW Post 755, 2211 Old Jacksonville Road, in Springfield.
As we mourn the loss of a remarkable soul, let us also celebrate the extraordinary life of Fred “Fox” Bradshaw, a man who lived with purpose, honor, and an abundance of love.
The family is being served by Butler Funeral Home-Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield, IL.
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