Jeannine Fox
May 7, 1966 - December 15, 2025
On the morning of December 15th, at 10:52 AM Jeannine Fox, with the use of Medical Aid In Dying (MAID), passed away. She was with her two adult children, Emily and Felix, and surrounded by love. Her passing marked the end of her long struggle with Multiple Sclerosis which she battled for 15 years.
In her 59 dazzling years, Jeannine touched many souls with her bright and strong spirit. She is remembered by her contagious and reverberating laugh, her adventurous smile, her boundless strength, which inspired many, and her compassion for others. She lived her life with curiosity, loyalty, courage, and love, and always invited new connections and fresh adventures. She loved people.
Jeannine was born in Sacramento and spent her childhood and adolescence in Redding and in Bolinas, California, with her mother Ioana Gropsorian, her father Charles Fox, her brother James, and her sister Kelly. She spent her days energetically and with alacrity. Whether she was racing down Mt. Tamalpais on skateboards, dancing harder than anyone around her, galloping bareback on RCA beach, mountain biking, hiking, telemark skiing, swimming or conversing with one of her many friends, she did it with her whole being.
After graduating from Marin Academy in 1984, Jeannine wanted to flee from California life and further cultivate her mind. She landed at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She began her undergrad as a student of photography, and later, after accepting a summer job in Munich, Germany, began to study German as well. After graduating, she moved back to Germany, speaking fluent German in Berlin.
Her father, Charles Fox, had been afflicted by Multiple Sclerosis for the greater part of Jeannine’s life, and was quadriplegic for 20 years. Hence, at her own diagnosis, she knew her personal boundaries. She was determined to be in control of her own life, and of her own death, on her own terms. When Jeannine began reaching a point in her illness when she could see that her freedom and dignity would be increasingly compromised, she began the quite challenging process of ending her life within the grace, legality and sovereignty afforded to her by Colorado’s MAID framework. Her choice was clear, and never faltered: an intentional end to a trajectory of suffering was more desirable than to continue towards complete imprisonment, dependence, and indignity.
Jeannine met her ex husband, Eric Sorenson, in 1992. They eventually married and lived in Boulder, Colorado, where they raised their two children Emily Fox Sorenson and Felix Ripley Sorenson. In 2008 she and Eric took their two kids to live in Cuenca, Ecuador for two and a half years, giving her kids the means to enjoy connecting with more cultures through the learning of a new language.
Jeannine was also on the board of Planned Parenthood, and worked as a Real Estate agent for over 20 years. She was involved with her children’s school, and was always on the go. She was fluent in German, Spanish and English, taught English, kept up with weekly Spanish classes (up until the week before her death!), and was a skilled cyclist, skier, hiker, and swimmer. As an avid traveler who stayed in loving, loyal contact with family and friends around the globe, Jeannine also visited many countries in her lifetime. She lived in joyful pursuit of her fullest potential, could laugh hard through hard things, and had an open heart and ready with for anyone whose path she crossed.
Jeannine is survived by her loving children Emily and Felix, her brother and sister (James and Kelly Fox), many cousins in England and Europe, nieces and nephews, and hundreds of people whom she loved and who all love her across the globe.
We will all miss her dearly and continue loving her fiercely through our own journeys of life.
Thank you for touching the lives of so many, Jeannine. We love you!
