Elizabeth

Elizabeth ?Liz? Foye, a longtime member of the Scribner Library staff and an indefatigable archivist, died Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Saratoga Springs. She was 87.

Born Dec. 30, 1919, in East Lansing, Mich., Liz was the daughter of the late James and Dorothy Stow Hassleman. Sports were one of Liz?s many interests. Friends and family recall that she would tell people she was born in the same hospital as Magic Johnson, her favorite basketball player.

During her teen years, Liz was a resident of Middletown, Conn., where she met her future husband, Howard R. Foye. They married in 1940 at Middletown?s Trinity Episcopal Church. Liz had graduated from Smith College, and Howard from Wesleyan University. They moved to Rochester, N.Y., where he attended Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and she took graduate courses at Eastman School of Music, majoring in music theory and organ.

The couple moved to Saratoga Springs in 1947, when Howard accepted an appointment as pastor of the Presbyterian (later Presbyterian New England) Church. He died in 2000.

The Foyes reared their six children in Saratoga Springs. Liz was a deeply devoted mother who shared the beauty of the natural world with her children through activities such as camping and through work in her abundant garden. She was an excellent knitter who provided hand-made sweaters to a number of people.

She joined the Scribner Library staff in 1961, when the College was located on Union Avenue. Mary K. O?Donnell, public access assistant, worked under Liz?s supervision from 1972 to 1984. She said, ?Liz was a very good-hearted person. She helped many students financially when they were in a bind. In 1979 I had the chance to go to New York City to see Pope John Paul II at Yankee Stadium. I was not much of a traveler. Liz was very happy for me ? she gave me a sweet card and enclosed some money for me to enjoy myself.?

Liz retired from Skidmore in 1986. Her last assignment involved working in the nascent Special Collections area, where she was archives assistant. Said O'Donnell, ?Departments all over the campus brought pictures to us and Liz painstakingly identified each one of them. She did this for a long time.?

Active in the community, Liz volunteered with Meals on Wheels, delivering meals until the age of 82, for which she received the Eckerd Drugs ?Woman of the Year? award for the state of New York, an honor presented by then-Assemblyman Bobby D?Andrea at the State Capitol. She also volunteered at the Saratoga Hospital Medical Library and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Her lifelong love of music led her to attend numerous concerts and recitals, including those presented by the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, of which her daughters Peg, Jan, and Susan were members.

Liz is survived by five daughters: Elizabeth (Yasushi) Santo, Margaret (Robert) Schalit, Susan (Curt) Smith, Janet (Leon) Chappell, and Louisa Foye; a son, Howard (Pamela); eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a brother-in-law.

Services were held Sept. 22, 2007, at the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church. The family has suggested that memorial contributions be made to the Albany Symphony Orchestra, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany, NY, 12207; SPAC, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY; or to the charity of one?s choice.