Cathy Ballard Fox

Cathy Ballard Fox was born November 27^th 1951 to Landall and Lois Ballard of Benson Utah. Cathy grew up on a dairy farm, the youngest of four children. She loved living on a farm with horses, cows, hay, and corn. After a trip to New York in her teens, she let her family know that leaving Cache Valley would never be an option.

And then she met George. Their first interaction was at a Utah State LDS singles activity. George threw a snowball that hit Cathy in the face. After a relentless pursuit by George, Cathy succumbed to his charms and they were married in the Logan LDS temple November 21, 1973. Cathy would never again live in Cache Valley.

Cathy settled into a life being married to both George and the U.S. Air Force as the wife of an officer. She sacrificed time away from her husband so he could protect our country. Being stationed at Strategic Air Command bases meant they were never more than one or a two-day drive away from her extended family in Cache Valley.

Cathy loved studying psychology, learning about human behavior, and interactions between individuals. The first test of Cathy’s studies came with her first child; a content, focused, happy boy. She didn’t understand why other mothers were complaining about parenting. This was easy, and Cathy planned on having many more kids. Three-years later the second child arrived, an energetic attention-loving boy that loved saying “Mom” all-day long.

Parenting WAS hard. Which child was the outlier? Only one way to find out. The third child arrived three-years later. This one, a girl who was born to be the boss, felt clearly a mistake was made of her not being the oldest and could not understand why everyone was reluctant to go along with her plans. With the family now complete they moved from Cheyenne Wyoming to Rapid City South Dakota, then finally moved to Fruit Heights Utah after retiring from the Air Force.

Cathy loved serving in her callings: Young Women instructor, Relief Society presidency, compassionate service, and teacher. But her favorite calling was teaching the little Sunbeams. She often joked it suited her because she was at their level. But we all know it was because she is an incredible, patient, loving person who always saw the best in people of all sizes and the potential of what they could become.

Cathy enjoyed vacationing with George, specifically pulling the trailer to a location and staying for a relaxing week or two enjoying all that nature had to offer. Later, when the grandkids were old enough to go, she and George would take them individually or in pairs to enjoy a few days with Grandma and Grandpa camping with the trailer and getting spoiled. Some of Cathy’s favorite destinations included: Pismo Beach California, Ouray Colorado, the Uintas and Bighorn Mountains, Yellowstone, as well as Glacier and Capitol Reef National Parks. She also really enjoyed a cruise to Alaska, while not warm and lacking beaches, the view was absolutely spectacular.

After a 13-month battle with brain cancer, Cathy succumbed on March 3rd, 2022 surrounded by family. She is survived by her husband George Fox, her sons Greg Fox (Jennifer Copeland Fox) and Jared Fox (Missy Solomon Fox), her daughter Stephanie Liechty (Kurt Liechty), and seven Grandchildren; Cade, Georgia, Macy, Brock, Cara, Blake, and Charlotte. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Tony Ballard.

The Fox family would like to give a big thank you to neighbors, friends, and family for their service during this difficult time. Thank you also to Dr. Mendez and the University of Utah Neuro-oncology Department and Hospice Health Care nurses.

Funeral services will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at the Fruit Heights 10th Ward Chapel located at 901 S Mountain Rd, Fruit Heights. A viewing will be held Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 from 6:00-8:00pm at Russon Mortuary, 1941 North Main, Farmington, Utah.

For those wishing to attend virtually, the Fruit Heights 10th Ward will stream services at 11:00 am using the following link: https://youtube.com/channel/UC1Z4zICGwltnagzVoHrjwIA