Fox deFuniak

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Albert Fox deFuniak III (born October 31, 1940 in Birmingham; died September 16, 2022 in Birmingham) was a banker, chair of Operation New Birmingham, and founder of the City Center District Management Corporation, the business improvement district which funds CAPS.

Fox was the son of Albert II and Frances DeFuniak. He grew up in Birmingham and attended Lakeview Elementary School and Ramsay High School. As a junior golfer, DeFuniak was Jefferson County champion and represented Alabama in the 1957 National Jaycee Junior Tournament, finishing 11th. He was a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team under Gene Stallings and completed his bachelor of science in business administration at the University of Alabama in 1963.

DeFuniak began his banking career at First National Bank of Birmingham and remained through its transition to AmSouth Bank. He was president of the bank's Birmingham division when he retired in 1995. He subsequently joined Sterne, Agee & Leach as a managing partner, serving as CEO of its trust company and its asset management division. He later served as Birmingham market chair for Cadence Bank before stepping down in 2015. He also served as board treasurer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

As a civic leader, DeFuniak served as chair of Operation New Birmingham and the Metropolitan Development Board, and on the boards of the Birmingham Business Alliance, Camp Smile-A-Mile and the UAB Research Foundation. He was president of the Birmingham Kiwanis Club, the Birmingham Jaycees, and the Birmingham Festival of Arts. He participated in fund raising campaigns for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and United Way of Central Alabama.

DeFuniak is credited with leading the development of the CAPS program in downtown Birmingham by convincing public authorities and private interests of the benefits of establishing a business improvement district.

DeFuniak was also president of the Crawford Owen Sunday School Class at Canterbury United Methodist Church.

DeFuniak died in 2022 from complications from diabetes. He was survived by his wife, Sara; four daughters and eight grandchildren.

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References

  • "Albert Fox deFuniak III" obituary (September 17, 2022) The Birmingham News
  • Sher, David (September 19, 2022) "No more Fox in the Birmingham henhouse." Comeback Town
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