FAMILY, friends and the motorcycle racing community are in mourning following the sudden death of Laurie Fox on Sunday evening at 90 years of age.
The motorsport identity suffered a severe stroke at McNamara Park and died at the Mount Gambier Hospital surrounded by his family.
A valued contributor to this newspaper for over 40 years, Laurie’s daughter Susan spoke to The Border Watch yesterday and said her father passed away “doing what he loved.”
“We always thought of dad as invincible,” she said.
“When he turned 90 I remember him saying he didn’t know if he would be around much longer but he was always so healthy and active – we thought he would live until he was 100.”
She said Laurie was always determined to maintain his health and his social life and was an active member of the community.
“At 90 it was unlikely he would have been able to make a full recovery – if they took his bike licence away or if he couldn’t write that would have been the end of him anyway,” she said.
“He always wanted to keep his brain sharp and stay active.”
Laurie visited each of his his three children every week and cherished time spent with his eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
“He came to visit me every Wednesday and gave me a bunch of flowers and a chocolate every time – I still have flowers from last week on the window sill,” Susan said.
“He loved his family and he was so loved in return.”
Laurie’s fifth great grandchild, Callum Laurie Fox, was born to his parents Matt and Amanda Fox last Monday and entered the world just in time to see his papa.
“He was born ahead of his due date, so it’s really nice Laurie was able to meet him,” Matt said.
Described by friends and family as a true gentleman, the Mount Gambier Motor Cycle Club stalwart was perhaps best known for his successful motorcycle business and his legendary reputation at McNamara Park.
The humble family man was always more comfortable talking about the achievements of his children than he was boasting about his own success.
Growing up in the late 1920s and ’30s, Laurie remembered his formative years fondly – he had a happy childhood and strong relationships with his parents and siblings.
Laurie left school before he turned 14 to work as a driveway attendant at Walkers Garage by day and as a part-time projectionist at the Capitol Theatre by night.
His second job at the iconic art deco theatre instilled in him a love for the movies.
He filmed many of his own home movies and had a collection of video tapes documenting family events and milestones in his children’s lives.
The day he turned the legal age of 16 Laurie applied for his road bike licence.
Although he initially had no interest in racing, he was encouraged by members of the Mount Gambier Motor Cycle Club to have a go and found he had a natural ability for riding sidecars.
He placed third in his very first race and quickly established himself as a force in the sport, with many first place finishes at local circuits and interstate.
On his lucky 1949 Norton, Laurie went on to win the South Australian Sidecar Scramble Championships on three occasions.
During his long stint as secretary at McNamara Park, Laurie was an integral member of the club and would quite often be working until 3am using a duplicator and stapling programs together for race day.
Around the same time Laurie established Laurie Fox Motorcycles, a company that now boasts a long history of success.
When he started out there were eight motorbike shops in Mount Gambier and by 1958 Laurie’s was the only motor cycle business left.
The enduring business was often attributed to Laurie’s exceptional customer service and his detailed knowledge of and passion for motor cycles.
Susan recalled one occasion when Laurie went out of his way to help a customer, driving back into town from McNamara Park on a Sunday.
“This person had broken down in Mount Gambier and called another local business who told him because it was Sunday and he was closed he couldn’t help him out,” Susan said.
“He called dad and explained his situation and dad drove all the way back into town and opened the shop to help him.”
Laurie married his late wife Erica when he was 40, though the couple had met a decade earlier when they were bridesmaid and best man at Erica’s sister’s wedding.
Erica was widowed when her first husband died in an accident at his property.
Her son Craig once wrote a letter to Laurie, asking him to be his dad and sending a 20c piece in the envelope as a form of enticement.
Laurie cherished that letter and still kept it in a safe place decades later.
Craig was eight years old when Laurie and Erica were married and Laurie soon adopted him.
The couple raised three children together, Craig, Susan and Russell, who now have families of their own.
Laurie had a collection of storybooks he penned over the years for his children and grandchildren, illustrated by his daughter, with every story demonstrating Laurie’s flair for writing and his vivid imagination.
Though he was highly regarded as a motorcycling icon in the Mount Gambier community, to his grandchildren and great grandchildren, Laurie was simply their loving “papa.”
