Since 1917
Our family serving your family . . .
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In 1917, Martin Fox started the Fox Jewelry Company on Monroe Avenue across from the Pantlind Hotel (now the Amway Grand Plaza) in downtown Grand Rapids. Martin's son Tom joined his father at an early age and worked with him during high school and college. "The experience I gained from working with my father was the best retail education I could ever receive," said Tom.
At one point, the business owned 48 retail stores throughout the Midwest. The business was sold and Tom Fox retired in 1990.
Tom became involved again in 2001, when the family started Thomas S. Fox Diamond Jewelers, located at 3090 28th Street.
Tom and his son-in-law, John Turrentine, run that business today where Tom still enjoys helping friends select a special diamond for special occasions.
"I have always loved the diamond business because it's a happy business," said Tom. "People buy diamonds to celebrate a joyful occasion and because a diamond is a gift of enduring value.
They want a jeweler they can trust, and so we've built our reputation on our quality diamonds and our quality service."
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We love this community
Fox Philanthropy
Tom and Mickie Fox recently made a $1 million gift from the Fox family to the Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center. "We love this community," said Tom Fox. "It's our way of saying thank you."
Their gift makes possible the purchase of the state-of-the-art da Vinci Surgical System, a surgical robotic device used in open-heart surgeries and prostate cancer surgeries at Spectrum Health.
Last year, the Fox family made a $1 million gift to the DeVos Children's Hospital because they love children and because they believe in giving back. "This community has been very, very good to us, which makes us want to give back in a way that will help many people."
Lifelong residents of Grand Rapids, Tom Fox was born at Butterworth Hospital and Mickie Fox and all four of their children and six grandchildren were born at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center.
Well-known throughout the Midwest for the family-owned retail jewelry business, now Thomas S. Fox Diamond Jewelers, the Foxes are grateful for their success and enjoy sharing it in ways that help others. They toured the Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center in November 2004, weeks before it opened, and were impressed with what they saw.
"Everything was so sparkling new, so state-of-the-art," said Mickie Fox. "In the back of Tom's mind, he started thinking about a gift to the Meijer Heart Center because we could see it is a first-class facility."
"We also respect Fred and Lena Meijer for all they've done for this community," said Tom Fox. "We wanted to honor them by showing our support for the Meijer Heart Center because of its value not only to Grand Rapids but also to the entire region."
While Tom and Mickie Fox are healthy and active and have never needed the services of the Meijer Heart Center, they want to make sure they're available for those who do. "Hopefully, we'll never be patients here," said Mr. Fox, "but if we are, we know we'll receive the best care available anywhere. Both of us hope our legacy is that we lived a long, long time."
In gratitude to the Fox family for this significant gift, the seventh floor of the Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center has been named the Tom and Mickie Fox Cardiovascular Unit.
