Richard F. Fox, 64, died July 7, 2017 at his home in North Billerica. He was the son of the late Alden and Esther Fox. He leaves his wife of 40 years, Debra Fox, and his daughter, Jillian and her boyfriend, TJ Grivers, all of Billerica. He also leaves his sister, Deborah Lafond, her husband, Jean and their children, Robin and Christopher, all of Dracut; his mother-in-law, Cynthia G. Diffin of Derry NH, brother-in-law, Stephen K. Diffin, of Baltimore MD, sisters-in-law, Joan Adams and her husband, Rick, of Manchester, NH, and Kelly S. Diffin of Westerville OH. He was pre-deceased by father-in-law, Keith S. Diffin and his sister-in-law, Karen J. Diffin. Richard was a graduate of Dracut High School, Northern Essex Community College and Northeastern University. His first co-op job at Northeastern was with the Department of Defense U.S. Navy at their site at the Sperry- Rand Corp on Long Island, NY. After graduation he continued with the Navy at Sikorsky Corp in Stratford, CT. While there, he realized his passion was for contracting, so he took a training position with Naval Avionics Center in Indianapolis, IN. After 5 years an opportunity to work for the Air Force presented itself and he transferred to Hanscom Air Force Base. After over 30 years with the Government he retired in 2008. He then worked as a contractor for Oasis and Odyssey and went back to his old departments as support staff. Richard continued working until May 2017 when he was unable to continue due to the ravages of stage 4 lung cancer. Richard loved to travel all over the world for work and pleasure. He was once a basketball player and loved sports. His passing will leave a big hole in the lives of all who knew and loved him. All services will be private. www.burnsfuneralhomes.com