JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ù Lee Thomas Hix, 72, Supervisory Patent Examiner, recently of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away Tuesday, July 31, 2007, of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was born in Commerce, GA, on May 9, 1935, to Lovic Franklin and Eula Martin Hix and graduated from Greenwood High School, Greenwood, SC, in 1953. After graduating from the Citadel in 1957 with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he worked for the Florida Power and Light Company. In 1960 he and his family moved to the Washington, DC, area where he worked for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the next 36 years. In the early 1970s he came home from work and told his children about a patent for a camera that would develop a picture automatically inside the camera. They did not believe him, but in 1973 Polaroid introduced instant photography with the folding SX-70 Land Camera. Mr. Hix is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Ann Deal Hix, Jacksonville, FL; one son, Tom Hix, Jr., Frederick, MD; three daughters, Deborah McCoy, Virginia Beach, VA, Patricia Silberstein, Pittsburgh, PA, and Katharine OÆNeal, Reston, VA; thirteen grandchildren; and one sister, Barbara Sarkozy, Towson, MD. A memorial service will be held Aug. 4, 2007, in the chapel of Community Care Hospice, Jacksonville. Eternity Funeral Home, Jacksonville, FL 32217, is assisting with the funeral arrangements. Memorial donations may be made to the Citadel Scholarship Fund, Class of 1957, 171 Moultrie St., Charleston, SC, 29409.
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