|
|
Jack Foley, longtime 3V AD
Athletic hall of famer, in Three Village and across NYS, passes away at 76
|
| | 
|  |
| |  | | 
| | | Photo courtesy TVCSD athletic dept. (click for larger version) | |
September 16, 2009 | 02:19 PM
In what can only be described as a huge blow to the Three Village community, Jack Foley of East Setauket, the former and longtime athletic director at Ward Melville High School, passed away on Sept. 14 after a long illness. Born in Yonkers on Aug. 18, 1933, he was 76 years old and is survived by his wife Beverly, his two sons Mick and John and five grandchildren.
After attending Manhattan College and New York University and earning his doctorate at Indiana University, Jack Foley began his Three Village career in 1965 as a teacher and a coach and soon became the district's first athletic director. He retired in 1990 from that position, but certainly did not stop working. During his long career in sports administration Jack Foley served as Section XI coordinator of boys' lacrosse, basketball and volleyball; and girls' basketball. Additionally, Foley was chairman of the Suffolk County Council of Physical Fitness and Sports. Foley, who also taught at Adelphi and Stony Brook universities, was a front-row regular at Stony Brook Seawolves' basketball games. He was elected as a member of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame; and in August 2008 he was inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Jack Foley was scheduled to emcee the induction of his son Mick — a three-time world champion professional wrestler and bestselling author — into the Ward Melville Athletic Hall of Fame next month. "I thought everybody's father was a beloved fixture in the community," Mick told Newsday. "As I got older, I was able to appreciate what a special person my father was. How lucky we were to have him as our father."
Mount Sinai boys' lacrosse coach Joe Cuozzo spent decades working with Foley at Ward Melville. Cuozzo said that for him the loss was more than just that of a colleague. "This is so tough to take. We were kids back in Yonkers," said Cuozzo. "We both worked at the same local pool. Then Jack gave me my opportunity at Ward Melville and served as my mentor. Everybody knew him and loved him, even big guys like Louie Carnesecca at St. Johns."
"Jack was one of a kind," Cuozzo continued, "a real gentleman. He was highly professional and incredibly loyal, and I always appreciated that. You don't replace guys like Jack."
"I've known Dr. Foley since 1981," said Don Webster, himself a former Ward Melville AD and now interim superintendent, "and at first I marveled at him from a distance. Dr. Foley's leadership, passion and vision were integral in shaping the Three Village Central School District into the outstanding educational institution it is today. He was a 'giant' who put others ahead of himself. He will be truly missed."
"Jack Foley was the foundation of the athletic program at Ward Melville and a huge part of this community," Ward Melville interim athletic director Erin Blaney said. "This is devastating. He was one of those people who was so much larger than life and it's hard to visualize that he's gone. He touched so many people in different ways that there is no way to measure this loss." Blaney described Foley as "a mentor, a friend, a father figure to so many, with an extensive network of friends throughout the sports world. For so many of us who have coached at Ward Melville, he guided us to success and then let us go our own ways. He was loyal, and he taught loyalty. That loyalty had a life of its own within the athletic department. This was always a team effort at Ward Melville. That was Jack Foley."
Jack Foley was named the first Village Times Herald Man of the Year in Sports, in 1976. His contributions to Three Village athletes and the community were obvious even then.
Dr. Foley will repose at the Bryant Funeral Home at Old Town Road in Setauket, across from his beloved Ward Melville High School. The public is invited to pay their respects tonight, Thursday, from 2 to 4 pm and 7 to 9 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. James Roman Catholic Church on Route 25A in Setauket at 9:30 am on Friday, Sept. 18, with interment to follow at St. James R.C. Churchyard. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Jack Foley can be made to Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson, Special Olympics or United Way.
| |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright 2010
(631) 751-7744 | news@tbrnewspapers.com | www.northshoreoflongisland.com | About |
|
| |
|
