“Persons of the year” title awarded to the Fox family by El Paso Inc.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) --- The El Paso Inc. was looking for someone who has improved the quality of life in El Paso and gone out of their way for the community and this year, the Fox family was the obvious choice! Paige Fox said "my parents have always instilled values for my sister and I in us giving back. We're very grateful. We need to pay it back and not always big acts of kindness. It's little things, like working with people who might be on the street, or holding the door open, and that gradually led to us volunteering in the communities in Juarez." Page fox spoke about lessons she and her sister Ashley learned from their parents, Steve and Nancy fox, from a young age.
As the girls grew, so did their ability to make even more of an impact, working with nonprofits, alongside their philanthropic parents. But the fox family, going through tough times of their own when steve was diagnosed with stage 4 head and neck cancer, having to travel to MD Anderson in Houston for extended periods of time for treatment.
Paige Fox said "with cancer you just dont' know. My sister and I were very young, in middle school and we had a lot of question: When our dad was gone we didn't know, would we see him again? would he come back?" Paige says at the time, there were limited resources to educate the family. "It was very difficult for my dad to travel, not just that but you're feeling isolated and alone, and having to be at the hospital but it's also tough on your family because there are a lot of unknowns there" said Paige Fox.
Now in his 23rd year of remission, Steve and his wife Nancy are still on a mission to make a difference in the community...serving on several boards, including the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation and Paso del Norte Health Foundation. In 2023, the Fox family made a $25 million dollar gift to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso to build a long-envisioned cancer center.
The Fox Cancer Center will consolidate outpatient services like cancer imaging, treatment, research and clinical trials. Steve Fox said "a lot of people don't have the financial ability to travel out of town...if you're really sick you want to be with your loved ones, you can't put a dollar sign on that. So being there and being able to be in your own bed with your wife and children - it's so imporant."
Paige Fox says "being able to have your cancer treatment here and your family united would just do wonders, as a family unit. My dad always says it's your attitude and your mindset is part of your medicine and treatment." Being grateful, and giving back. It's easy to see how the Fox family has earned the title: El Pasoans of the year!
