Dr. Charles Winfred Fox II passed away at home in Lindsborg, Kansas, at 1:00 a.m. on Monday, March 16, 2026. Charles was born in 1962 in Arkansas City, Kansas, to Patsy and Charles Fox, and grew up in California and Texas with his sister Patty and brother James.
Charles met his wife, Laura Crawley, in a college poetry class at the University of Texas at Austin. That meeting led to a long and happy marriage full of love and mutual support. Raised in the Southern Baptist tradition, Charles joined the Lutheran church soon after marrying Laura. He was deeply influenced by the words of Lutheran philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard: “The leap of faith is not a leap into the dark, but a leap into the light.” Charles understood that leap as originating in trust that faith must be lived, not merely discussed. In this, his life also reflected the call of Jesus in Matthew 25 to care for the hungry, the stranger, the vulnerable, and the forgotten. For Charles, faith meant showing up for people with curiosity and conviction, and putting love into practice.
That grounding shaped the whole of his life. Open-hearted and thoughtful, Charles cared deeply about justice and believed in the power of words and ideas to move people toward truth and toward one another. He loved laughter, welcomed conversation, and built community wherever he went. Charles brought both intellect and feeling to the way he lived, surrounding himself with books, movies, music, and creative work. He enjoyed card games and word games, and played Wordle every day with his wife. He was funny and loved practical jokes. A former gymnast, fencer, baseball player, and weightlifter, he was also strong and disciplined.
Charles dreamed of becoming a father and rejoiced at the births of James and Laurel, whom he nicknamed Jake and Katie. He and Laura raised their children with loving care, always encouraging curiosity, faith, and service. He was deeply proud of the adults they have become and spoke with them often. Jake and Katie will miss his voice, his strong hugs, and his rock-solid, steadfast love.
Charles earned his Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from George Mason University and his Ph.D. in Communications: Moving Images Studies from Georgia State University. He retired from Perimeter College at Georgia State University in 2022 after 26 years of teaching English, where he also served as Department Chair of English and Associate Dean of Student Success. He was a gifted teacher who helped students develop their own voice and trust their own ideas. One of Charles’s proudest professional accomplishments was leading the GSU Prison Education Project, which made college possible for incarcerated individuals. One of his final tasks before retirement was presiding over the GSUPEP graduation ceremony.
Retirement did not slow his sense of purpose. Charles pursued artistic, scholarly, and service projects with energy and joy. He taught part-time at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, where his wife, Dr. Laura Crawley, serves as President. He served on the Lindsborg Arts Council, sang in the Messiah Lutheran Church choir where he also played drums and guitar, and played ukelele with the Front Porch Pickers. He and his writing partner had published articles in film theory, and he had presented his scholarly work at professional conferences. Recently he was rehearsing to sing in the 145th performance of the Messiah at Bethany College and had begun serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Bethany men’s soccer team.
Charles is survived by his beloved wife of 32 years, Dr. Laura Crawley, and their two children, James Kay Fox and Laurel Katherine Fox; his mother, Patsy Fox; his brother, James Fox, James’s wife, Sretna, and their daughter, Daria. He will be remembered as a loving husband and father and a faithful friend and teacher. Here, in the end, his life points us back to the truth he trusted: that faith is lived by taking the leap, not into darkness, but into the light. We know he is now comforted in the presence of that Light.
A service to celebrate the life of Charles W. Fox will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 at Messiah Lutheran Church on the campus of Bethany College, 402 N. 1st Street, Lindsborg, KS 67456. A reception will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial gifts to: Messiah Lutheran Church, 402 N. 1st Street, Lindsborg, KS 67456, www.messiahchurchlbk.org or Lindsborg Arts Council, PO Box 53, Lindsborg, KS 67456, www.lindsborgarts.org