Emily Anna Fox was lovingly remembered Saturday at Dos Pueblos High School, where the 2011 graduate and star athlete was known for her beauty “inside and out.”
The celebration of her life was a way for hundreds of family members and friends to refocus their attention on the young woman they cherished, rather than the tragic circumstances of her death.
Fox, 22, and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Jerrad Scott of La Mesa, were gunned down Jan. 17 at her Los Angeles apartment in an apparent domestic violence confrontation with her former boyfriend.
The ex-boyfriend, former Santa Barbara resident Brian Anthony Gonzales, 24, was arrested two days later and has been charged with capital murder in the killings.
On Saturday, more than 500 family members, friends and former teachers packed Dos Pueblos High’s Performing Arts Center to honor Fox’s memory and her remarkable life.
Fox attended Cathedral Oaks Nursery School, Foothill School, La Colina Junior High School and Dos Pueblos High, where she was a three-time All-Channel League golfer and helped lead the Chargers to four league championships. In addition to her athletic prowess, she was a gifted photographer and had a wide circle of friends — more than 1,000 on Facebook alone.
After attending Santa Barbara City College, she was awarded a scholarship to attend CSU Northridge, where she was one semester away from graduating with a degree in sociology. Somewhat ironically, she was interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice or law.
On behalf of the close-knit Fox family, South Coast Church Senior Pastor Rino Dattilo welcomed Saturday’s guests and opened the service in prayer. Speakers included family members; her high school history teacher, Bethany Bodenhamer; recent employer and friend Doug Silverstein, a Los Angeles attorney; and Chargers golf coach Dan Choi.
A common thread was the great amount of love that Fox and her family — parents Lynn and Steve Fox and her older sister, Sarah — had for those around them.
“Everyone knows the Foxes’ little business (Santa Barbara Auto Accessories in Old Town Goleta) where the sheepskins were displayed on the sidewalk,” Datillo said. “It’s a place where you can pull up a stool and talk about your dreams or your troubles.
“When you left you felt cared for and validated. The Fox family is like that. Emily was like that — loving, compassionate and caring.”
Bodenhamer said she remembered Fox giving her a beautiful smile every morning in her history class.
“Emily was beautiful inside and out,” she said. “What a joy it was to teach you.”
Silverstein hired Fox in July to help with his four children, including taking his two sons across town to ice hockey practice three to five days a week.
“I put an ad on Craigslist for the job,” he recalled. “I received 50 responses. Emily just stood out. I thought if she had all that experience working at The Habit in Goleta, she must be responsible and know how to get things done.
“Emily went to school and studied in the mornings and then worked for us in the afternoons. She was incredibly responsible and thoughtful. We all loved Emily and will continue to do so.”
Choi remembered Fox’s great sense of humor, and described her as “a competitor who didn’t want to lose.”
He said she would spend extra hours, along with the grueling golf practice and tournament schedule, practicing at the putting green.
After reading Fox’s obituary at the service, her uncle, Brian Fox of Ventura, noted that his wife had died unexpectedly two days after Christmas.
“December and January have been filled with grief in the Fox family,” he said.
Sarah Fox was the final speaker. She described her younger sister as always having time to help those around her, whether it was a student who needed extra tutoring or a friend who was down and having thoughts of suicide. She had the quality of giving unconditional love, she said.
“Emily and I had the best life — we had a roof over our heads, lots of great food from Mom, and every day we said that we loved each other,” she said. “Emily texted my parents ‘goodnight’ every single night.”
She recalled one day when her sister left work at The Habit and went next door to visit her parents at their auto and truck accessory store.
“Emily was crying,” she said. “Once my mom calmed her down, Emily said, ‘I have had the best childhood. Thank you for loving me and for loving me for who I am.’”
In addition to her parents and sister, Fox is survived by a large contingent of family members from California, Oregon, Australia and New Zealand. Many of them were in attendance at the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Fox’s name to the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at news@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
