Gail Peters Fox, of Harrisonburg, Virginia died peacefully Monday, July 22, 2024. She was born in 1938 in Massachusetts to the late Warren and Norma Trask Peters. Gail was a dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother who cherished her family and friends. She will be deeply missed.

On October 19, 1968, she married Dr. Frederick L. Fox of Keene, NH and who survives. They celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary in Australia with a renewal of marriage vows with the minister who had married them. In 2018 they were privileged to share their fiftieth wedding anniversary via Zoom on the coast of Maine with the same minister.

Gail was preceded in death by a son, Matthew Todd Fox; brother-in-law, Fred O. Wygal; and nephew, Michael James McFarland. Gail is also survived by her sons: Jonathon Fox of MN; children Forest and Dahlia; Ben and Emmy (Walden) Fox of VT; children Graham and Lucy; sister-in-law Ellen Fox Wygal of VA; nephew, Jonathan and Michelle Sanborn and family of RI; step-siblings Rachel Peters and Norman Arnodt of New England.

Gail graduated from Chatham College, now Chatham University, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1960. She earned a Masters in Education at James Madison University in 1968. She had completed all but her dissertation toward a Doctorate of Education at the University of Virginia by 1998. She taught in the Department of Education at JMU for over a decade, and was Literacy Educator for Harrisonburg City School system for the elementary schools until retiring in 2010.

She was lovingly known as Grammy Gail to everyone. She was a devoted supporter of her family and friends; loved canoeing, kayaking, hiking, loon watching, the Red Sox; was a proficient knitter, creative writing, and was an excellent puzzle and scrabble player. She loved traveling to the New England coast and mountains; climbed Mt. Washington and most of the presidential range of NH as well as abroad to Norway and New Zealand. She sang with the Shenandoah Choral Society and local church choirs for over thirty years. She had a deep knowledge and love of children’s literature and enjoyed tutoring children to read. She served as Deacon and Elder at First Presbyterian Church, co-director of Youth Club, member of the Boards of Family Life Resource Center, charter member and first Chair of the Advisory Council of the JMU College of Visual and Performing Arts and The Forbes Center; served as co-founder and facilitator of the Harrisonburg Chapter of The Compassionate Friends and of the Survivors of Suicide; on the Development Board instrumental in raising funds for the current Childrens’ Museum Explore More and created the exhibit “One World” featuring children’s books in native languages from around the world; was honored in 2015 on National Philanthropy Day for Individual Philanthropy by the Shenandoah Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals; a long term supporter of United Way and charter member of The Wampler Society; and a long long term supporter of The Community Foundation.

In her later years, Gail developed a deep passion for the equine therapy work at Moonrise Therapeutics. She formed a special bond with a paint/draft therapy horse named Makata, who became a lasting friend and a source of support for her.

The family is very grateful to the caregivers of Home Instead and Sentara Palliative and Hospice Services.

Family and friends are invited to celebrate Gail’s life on Sunday, August 18, 2024, from 2 p.m.- 6 p.m., at the residence 700 New York Ave., Harrisonburg, VA.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Moonrise Therapeutics, PO Box 90, Taftsville, VT.