Biography of Linus Richard Daniel Foy
President Emeritus Richard Foy began a detailed autobiography which he did not complete before his passing in 2019. Below is his original summary and plan for his autobiography. He developed a framework for his writing which has been kept intact. Completed chapters are linked, whereas the uncompleted chapters will remain unlinked.
Richard Foy attempts to recall what he remembers of his life and career, principally as a memento to his children, but also for the information of those who might research the history of Marist College.
Chapters will be not be written in chronological order, but done piecemeal, using the information developed during work on the family web site called clan and my own inclinations and current related research projects.
Origins of the Foy and McKeon Families
Birth and time living in the Bronx
Marist Preparatory 1942-1945
Novitiate and Scholasticate 1945-1950
Teaching at Saint Ann’s Academy and Cardinal Hayes High School 1950-1958
President of Marist College 1958 –1964
European trips 1964, 1967, 1968
President of Marist College 1964-1970
President of Marist College 1970-1979
COO of Boyden World Corporation 1979-1990
COO of Boyden in Hawthorne 1991-1999
Retirement 2000 –
Here is another short biography that he wrote:
Linus Richard Daniel Foy (1929 - 2019) graduated from Marian College in 1950 as the first summa cum laude graduate, taught summers at Marian in 1954, 1955, 1956, and was named President in 1958. During his tenure as President, he increased the size of the student body from 110 to 2000. In 1979 he left the college to become chief administrator of Boyden World Corporation, a global executive search firm until his retirement at the end of 1999. Remains an honorary trustee of Marist College, and has researched the former owners of Marist College properties and also of the Esopus estate of Oliver Hazard Payne, including sections now occupied by the Marist Brothers and the Raymond Rich Institute of Marist College.
His Obituary
Rhinebeck - Richard Daniel Foy was born on November 17, 1929, in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, New York. He is the proud son of Irish immigrants, Peter Joseph and Virginia (nee McKeon) Foy. He had one older brother, Peter Joseph, II (1927-2016). Dr. Foy attended Saint Frances of Rome grammar school in the Bronx. Following the death of his mother, he attended Marist Preparatory in Esopus, NY from 1942-1945. He then progressed through the Marist Novitiate in Poughkeepsie from 1945-1947, and graduated Marist College, then called Marian College, in 1950.
Dr. Foy joined the Marist Brothers to be a teacher, taking the name Linus when he became ordained. After graduation, he taught high school for eight years at Saint Ann's Academy in Manhattan. During this time, he studied part time and obtained his Master of Science degree in mathematics at St. John's University, and Ph.D. in mathematics at New York University. Dr. Foy wrote his first computer program in 1954 on a Univac at NYU, which began his life-long love of computers.
Dr. Foy was named President of Marist College in November, 1958, becoming the youngest College president in America at the age of 28. At that time, Marist had an enrollment of 130 students. Marist would see significant expansion during his tenure. Notable construction projects included: Sheehan Hall, Leo Hall, Donnelly Hall, Champagnat Hall, Benoit House, Gregory House and the McCann Recreation Center. Marist added evening classes, a computer center, cooperative classes and programs for the economically disadvantaged. By the time Dr. Foy resigned from Marist College in 1979, enrollment had grown to 1900 students. The college opened to lay students in 1960, and in 1968 became truly co-educational when women were admitted. Dr. Foy felt strongly about the importance of education being available to the entire community.
Dr. Foy resigned from the Marist Brothers in 1970, but remained president of Marist College until 1979. He married Mary Ellen Morley (1938-2006) of Richmond Hill, Queens, a nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital, in 1971.
In 1979, Dr. Foy joined Boyden World Corporation, an international search firm with offices in 40 countries, as Chief Operating Officer. During the next two decades, he oversaw the transition of the organization from a single corporation to independent franchises. As part of his work, he traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. He retired in 1999 to spend time on researching family history and the history of the Marist Brother's property in Esopus.
During a six month sabbatical in Switzerland in 1964, Dr. Foy got hooked on skiing. He obtained his pilots license. He enjoyed basketball, tennis, softball, rowing and sailing on the Hudson. He enjoyed vacationing for two decades at Long Beach Island, New Jersey, where he took up windsurfing. He also loved playing the piano, and took lessons after retiring.
His devotion to his family and Marist College were endless. He was a well-known fixture at Marist sporting events, especially the home women's and men's basketball games.
He was renowned for his gentle nature and kind heart. He touched every person that came in contact with him in some way. It was his mission to reach out to those in need, and to learn the personal stories and struggles of those around him.
Dr. Foy is survived by his son, Peter Joseph, III and his wife Tracy (nee Stockwell) of Flanders, New Jersey; his daughter, Dr. Bridget Foy-Pomerantz and her husband Jason Pomerantz of Red Hook, New York; and five beloved grandchildren: Mary Josephine, Zoe Morley, Daniel Scott, Linus Richard, and Lars Henry.
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