Patrick Norman Fox

Architect and civic leader Patrick “Pat” Norman Fox passed away peacefully on January 21, 2026, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a courageous struggle after a fall in April 2025. He was 78.

Over a 52-year career, Fox helped shape Tulsa’s built environment through architecture, urban planning, and community development. His work ranged from private residences to large-scale planning initiatives, leaving a lasting imprint on neighborhoods throughout the city and beyond.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Fox graduated from C.E. Byrd High School before attending the University of Arkansas School of Architecture, where he studied under noted architect E. Fay Jones, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. That influence shaped his lifelong commitment to site-responsive design, natural materials, and architecture grounded in place.

Fox began his career in public service, working with Tulsa’s Model Cities Program in the early 1970s, where he helped organize and mobilize neighborhoods in a pioneering approach to community-driven planning. The program expanded to 26 neighborhoods, and development guidelines he helped shape still shape local development and zoning decisions today.

In 1979, he co-founded Turner/Fox Associates. After serving as a principal with Urban Design Group, he established Fox Architects in 1987, leading the firm for nearly four decades. He designed hundreds of homes and buildings in Tulsa and in cities including San Antonio, Los Angeles, Oakland, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas, and Joplin. His work was recognized for its clarity, craftsmanship, and willingness to challenge convention. Pat often said, “If everyone likes your work, you’re doing something wrong,” reflecting his belief that meaningful design requires conviction.

Fox served as President of the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and as a member of the AIA National Board of Directors. He also contributed to numerous civic and advisory boards in Tulsa.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Pat was known for his generosity, sharp wit, impeccable style, and abundant shoe collection. He was passionate about cars and motorsports, and he loved music, often playing guitar and singing John Prine and Bob Dylan songs to his children.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Simon Patrick Fox and Sarah McDonald Fox, and his sister, Olivia Fox Oliver. He is survived by his partner, Evelyn Hatfield; children, Patrick Fox (Katie), Sarah Horsfield (Alex), Lindsey Fox (Nyssa), and John Fox; and was “Papa Fox” to his grandchildren, Wyatt and Audrey Fox, and Edie and June Horsfield.

Fox believed deeply in the dignity and worth of every person and carried those values into his work and daily life. The homes and buildings he designed have left an indelible mark on this city. He left the same enduring mark on the people he loved and counted as friends. His legacy endures in Tulsa and in the family he cherished.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the E. Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas: 

https://onlinegiving.uark.edu/campaigns/53930/donations. 

A fund is also being established in his name through the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture.