G. William Fox, 66, area Realtor

G. William "Bill" Fox, 66, who built his grandfather's small real estate firm into the region's dominant residential real estate company, died Saturday from complications of Huntington's disease at his home in Medford.

Mr. Fox joined Fox & Lazo, his family's Haddonfield real estate agency, in 1963 after graduating from the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., and Trinity College in Connecticut.

During the next four decades, he grew the eight-member firm, which his grandfather founded in 1886, into one of the nation's largest agencies. It eventually became Prudential Fox Roach, a realty powerhouse of 3,000 agents in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

He did it by stressing a family-like business environment that kept his staff fiercely loyal and earned the respect of competitors, said his daughter Tacie Fox of Washington.

In 1996, Mr. Fox was diagnosed with Huntington's disease, a neurological disorder that slowly attacked his body. He didn't let it stop him. The following year, he merged Fox & Lazo with Roach/Wheeler, another family realty firm.

As chairman of the board, Mr. Fox devised company strategy and built relationships with clients and staff, said business partner Chip Roach.

In 1999, Mr. Fox helped orchestrate the purchase of the Prudential franchise in Philadelphia, which doubled the size of the company.

Mr. Fox, who grew up in Haddonfield, was quick to gauge real estate trends and adopted practices then avant-garde, Tacie Fox said. He was among the first to put mortgage, title insurance and homeowners' insurance services under one roof.

His emphasis on customer service extended to his own home, where Mr. Fox required his children to practice shaking hands.

"We all failed it many times," Tacie Fox said, laughing. "But to this day, everyone in the Fox family has a firm handshake and can look a person in the eye."

He loved his employees and considered them family, Tacie Fox said. Even if he was overseas, Mr. Fox made a point to call staff members on their birthdays.

"He did it until he couldn't dial the numbers anymore," Tacie Fox said.

After Mr. Fox stepped down as chairman in 2003, he continued to visit company offices to deliver pep talks and take agents to lunch.

"His entire career, he just loved what he did," said Sandra Williams Fox, his wife of 46 years. "He never considered it work."

Mr. Fox led his four children in dinner conversations and always had a topic of the night, Tacie Fox said.

"One night, he said: 'Everybody here has only three weeks to live. Now what are you going to do?' " she recalled.

"I said, 'I'm going to go to Egypt, go down the Nile and see the pyramids,' " she said. "Then it was his turn.

"He said, 'I don't think I'm going to do anything differently. I love my job. I love my family. I love the people I work with. I'm going to go to work and enjoy my last days with the people I love.' "

Mr. Fox served for many years on the boards of the Ronald McDonald House, Cooper University Hospital, CoreStates Bank, Haddonfield United Methodist Church, and the Huntington's Disease Society of America.

In addition to his wife and daughter Tacie, Mr. Fox is survived by his son, G. William Fox Jr. of Medford; daughters Liza Fox Lyons of Medford and Sara Fox of Philadelphia; and siblings Frederick S. Fox III of Cherry Hill, Mary Fox Zwally of Harrisburg, and Jane Fox of Mount Laurel.

A viewing will be held tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m. at Bradley Funeral Home, Route 73 and Evesham Road, Marlton. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Haddonfield United Methodist Church, 29 Warwick Rd., Haddonfield. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Hereditary Disease Foundation, 3960 Broadway, Sixth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10032.