Robert Gerald Foley died Oct. 18th, 2021, in the selfless care of Plattsburgh's CVPH nursing staff. Bob was born in Montreal, Quebec, on March 14th, 1932, to Elmer Whiting Foley and Edith May (Lorrimore) Foley. He was preceded in death by his parents, an older brother David, his son Bobby, as well as half siblings, Ted and Gail. Bob weathered more than his share of loss throughout his life. He is survived by a half-sister, Patsy Cunningham of Renfrew, Ontario.
Bob met his future wife, Sandra while riding motorcycle in Verdon as part of the Jolly Rogers Motorcycle Club. They emigrated to the United States in 1958 with their then young family of three boys, Bobby, Steven and Jeffrey. They eventually settled on Cumberland Head and added two more sons to the brood, Andrew and John. Never a dull moment in the household, Bob ruled with kindness and adventure, leading camping trips in summertime and snowmobiling on the lake in winter.
Bob was an electrician by trade. In his early career, he worked on the Distant Early Warning Line (radar) in the Arctic Circle and came to the United States to work on missile base silos throughout the North Country. Later he worked for Imperial Wallpaper in Plattsburgh and eventually owed his own contracting business, Sand Electric. He also traveled to Alaska, working on the North Slope and in the Alaskan interior, as well as numerous seasons at the McMurdo research station in Antarctica.
Later in life, Bob became an avid sailor on Lake Champlain, owning various boats, his last, the "Lollipop," harbored in Key West, Fla. He especially loved to sail with all his sons, transiting the east coast inland waterway, the Pacific Ocean along the Mexican coast, the Caribbean and the Southeast panhandle of Alaska. He loved playing cribbage with anyone who was game and loved swapping stories by a bonfire over beers.
Bob leaves behind his sons and respective wives, Steven and Jamie, Jeffrey and Kay, Andy and Jennifer, and John and Tanya. He leaves eight grandchildren: Thomas, Saneun, Ryelyn, West, Johnna, Jaqueline, Eli, and Drew. He also leaves eight great-grandchildren: Kate, Ella, Asher, Hazel, Sheamus, Evelyn, Max and Ronan.
A graveside service is scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday, October 23rd, at the Riverview Cemetery in Chazy, with a gathering afterwards at P.B. Finnans, above the Monopole at 2 p.m.