Tom Fox, a peace activist who graduated Peabody College in 1973, died in Iraq after more than fourth months as a hostage. He was 54.
“He was a good person,” said Frank Kirchner, an adjunct associate professor of saxophone at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music who met Fox while both were studying music at Peabody.
“He was humble. He was a fine musician.”
Fox’s body was found on March 9 near a west Baghdad railroad line, according to news reports. There were gunshot wounds in his head and chest, and police said there were signs of torture on the body. A group calling themselves the Swords of Righteousness Brigades claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Fox and three others.
Fox was in Iraq as part of a group from Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Chicago-based organization whose slogan is “Committed to reducing violence by getting in the way.”
A memorial service was held March 11 in Clear Brook, Va.
“We mourn the loss of Tom Fox, who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression and the recognition of God in everyone,” Christian Peacemaker Teams said in a statement.
Fox spent two decades playing clarinet for the United States Marine Band. He also studied cooking and as a Quaker became a committed peace activist. He was divorced and had two children.
There was little hint during his years at Peabody that Fox would become an activist, Kirchner said.
“Tom was a very quiet person back then,” Kirchner said “He was a man of few words, but when he spoke it was usually something very intuitive and insightful.”
Michael Hime, lecturer in music literature at Blair, said Fox, Kirchner and he were all part of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men dedicated to music.
“He was a passionate clarinet player,” Hime remembered. “We had many all-night chats about life, music, women and whatever – the kind of talks fraternity brothers have. My memories of Tom are mostly being around him in music ensembles. He was a very serious and gifted musician.”
Fox lived in Springfield, Va. In an entry on his blog just days before his abduction, he explained his reasons for taking the risk of being in Iraq.
“We are here to stop people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God’s children, no matter how much they dehumanize their own souls,” Fox wrote.
Hime said that Fox’s later career as a peace activist was “absolutely consistent with every way that I knew him during the Peabody years.”
“I can’t fully understand all his motivations, but I know that if he decided to go in any direction, he would be completely committed to his beliefs.
“I am sorry for the way this turned out. Tom made some choices and he has paid the ultimate price. I hope that our reactions to this event will validate his life.”