DEAR MARTI,  I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR OF CATHERINE'S PASSING. I TRIED TO GET A HOLD OF HER AFTER YOUR DAD'S PASSING & WHEN SHE RETIRED BUT DIDN'T HAVE HER RIGHT ADDRESS. SHE WILL BE IN MY PRAYERS ESPECIALLY THIS HOLIDAY.   I STILL WORK ON FAMILY GENEOLOGY IF YOU CAN CONTACT ME-----LOVE TO ALL YOUR COUSIN, ROSANNE BOHLANDER (rosanneb1@yahoo.com)

I liked and appreciated having Catherine as my section chief for 13 years at EPA.  She was so intelligent, always getting to the heart of legal issues and problems very quickly.  Fairness was very important to her, and she was always very fair in all her dealings with me and the office.  I think EPA and protecting the environment was a mission and a calling for her, and she excelled at it. 

Catherine and I shared Iowa roots, and we had many conversations about the changes in Iowa.  She spoke lovingly of her visits with her parents in Newton, Iowa and her wonderful trips to Vancouver and Toronto for family visits there.

My favorite memory of Catherine was her excitement around the arrival of the peregrine falcons every spring.  My office was next door to Catherine’s, and we shared a “view” of the Cook County jail, a skyscraper with tall narrow windows.   A pair of peregrine falcons came to these “cliffs” windows every spring.  Catherine would bring in her binoculars, and we would excitedly watch the progress of the falcons every day.  Catherine was always the first one to see the falcon chicks emerge and test their wings, and her face would light up while she was watching them.

Thank you, Catherine, for your energy, passion and devotion. 


I started my EPA career in the ORC file room and Catherine stood out to me as one of the good ones. Always ready with a friendly hello, or an encouraging word.  I moved on to the Water Division, and am now retired, but I still look back at my time in ORC with fond memories, thanks in part to Catherine Fox. My deepest condolences to all her colleagues, friends and family. 

Here are excerpts from the letter I wrote to Catherine, upon her retirement.

You have been a terrific boss, advisor, and advocate from the very beginning. 

You taught me how to write clear, concise, well-reasoned arguments. You were a great editor, improving my writing, but never trying to substitute your voice or viewpoint for mine. You taught me never to compromise on the evidence and to build the strongest case. You supported and guided me in dealing with difficult program clients but did not interfere. You empowered me never to back down on my principles, legal and otherwise. You often saw more in me than I could see myself and had the good sense to tell me so. For that, I am grateful. 

I came to appreciate your quirks. For someone so reserved, it never ceased to startle me when I would find you, with stocking feet on your desk, reviewing a document. I might even miss you walking into my office during lunch and launching into a conversation, my sandwich be damned!

There is so much more to you than being the plain language guru and a stickler for the rules. You are intelligent, funny, principled, wise, and kind. 

The thing I appreciate most is your moral compass. My favorite story about you remains when you told me I should never be disrespected. Opposing counsel was tearing into the program client, alleging that he had a personal vendetta because we were taking an enforcement action in his hometown. I came to you, flummoxed, and you said, “hang up the phone.” I couldn’t believe it! Then you said, “you should never be disrespected. The next time she does it, hang up the phone.”  What brilliant advice! 

It stuck with me. When opposing counsel would bloviate, I would think, “He cannot disrespect me. I can end this meeting at any point.” I never did, but it was so powerful knowing I could. Thank you.

You will be missed. 

To which I now add—Catherine, you are missed.

Catherine was a true "public servant".  She cared deeply about EPA's mission and the people who work hard to fulfill it.  She played a critical role in both major substantive legal issues and managing people, always balancing interests to achieve a fair outcome.  We worked closely together during her final years at EPA and shared many conversations about family and the world at large.  Catherine spoke lovingly of her parents, sister and nephews and looked forward to visits with them.  I have missed her since she retired and will think of her often with fond memories.  

A gentlelady and a gentle lady, she . . .

Catherine was my first supervisor at EPA. She was a good public servant, primarily concerned about EPA succeeding at its mission. I also remember her being interested in the functioning of the office. With her I could always trust that she was interested in the office functioning well, or our work to protect public health and the environment succeeding. She was a good, professional supervisor and was nice to me. I know her family was important to her, that was clear from talking to her over the years. I hope she had a happy retirement. I remember being happy for her when she retired, though the office was a little emptier without her. Rest in peace.

Catherine was a dedicated environmental attorney and a long-time member of our Regional Counsel's Office family.  Her exacting legal expertise and programmatic knowledge was an inspiration for excellence in our respective legal practices.  She was also a very generous and long-time supporter of our ORC "Santa's Helpers" holiday gift giving program for Chicago's neediest children.  My wishes for peace go out to Catherine's family.

I'm so saddened to learn that Catherine has passed away.   She was devoted to her family, spoke of them often and was so proud of them: parents, sister and nephews.
As my section chief for many years, Catherine was an inspiration--a devoted environmentalist who was both brilliant and practical.   It seemed to me that she had a photographic memory.  Before everything was electronic, when I would ask her about some arcane EPA policy, we would walk to one of her extremely organized file drawers and within seconds she would pull out the folder containing all the information I needed.
Catherine was kind and nurturing to staff attorneys and totally unambitious for someone with her smarts.  She also had a healthy skepticism for the ever-changing political backdrop of a government agency.  I've missed her since she retired in 2016.  May her memory be a blessing for her family and friends.

It was a pleasure and an honor to work at U.S. EPA, Office of Regional Counsel with Catherine.  She was a dedicated and committed environmental attorney - and a nice person.  

I remember how she was always concerned about whether our office had collected enough 'toys for tots' for needy children during the Holidays.  

Peace to her and her family.  Tom Turner

OBITUARIO

Catherine Louise Fox

5 octubre, 1948 – 26 julio, 2022

Drake & Son Funeral Home

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