Saratoga Springs, NY- John P. Foley, a retired Army officer and a retired high school teacher, died on January 9, 2021 following a ferocious battle with COVID-19.  He was 94.  His life was marked by his faith, and his deep and abiding love for his family, his hometown of Saratoga Springs, and the nation he served so steadfastly.

Born October 1, 1926 in Saratoga Springs, Mr. Foley was the oldest son of John L. Foley and Margaret Dowd Foley.  His mother was a competitive swimmer and his father a Yale and Columbia University-educated attorney.  His parents met in Paris, at the 1924 Summer Olympics, the games featured in the film "Chariots of Fire."  Mr. Foley was a lifelong resident of Saratoga Springs except for his years of extensive military service.  Educated in local schools, Mr. Foley also attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and was awarded a Master's Degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

A confirmed hell-raiser as a teenager, Mr. Foley credited the Army with making him into the man he became.  He was first, last, and always a soldier.  A veteran of World War II and Korea, Mr. Foley was in Seoul, Korea as a military advisor to the South Korean Army on June 25, 1950 when the Korean War began.  He served in Korea for several years, including the first year of the Korean War, and had a life-long respect and fondness for the cultures and people he encountered in his many years in Asia.  He continued to serve in the United States Army until his retirement in 1967, at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2.  A major part of Mr. Foley's Army career was spent in military intelligence as a counterintelligence officer and polygraph examiner.  Mr. Foley served on numerous intelligence assignments in Europe and Asia—particularly in Cold War Germany and Eastern Europe--as well as in the continental United States.  He was proud of his intelligence service, but rarely spoke of it out of respect for the classified nature of his work.  The only glimpse he allowed into his intelligence career was his reference to James Bond movies as "training films," and the occasional comment about improperly depicted spy-craft in books or television.

After his military career, Mr. Foley brought his family back to Saratoga Springs so that his children could have the opportunity to grow up and be educated in the city where the Foley family has resided since 1850.  In 1971, he started to teach Social Studies in Saratoga Springs High School.  In the following year, Mr. Foley began to teach African-Asian Studies in the then new Junior High School, where he enjoyed illustrating lessons with his experiences in Asia.  He retired from teaching in 1991, and focused on travel, a daily three-mile walk, and a thorough perusal of every available local newspaper.

He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 420, American Legion Post 70, the Military Officers Association of American, the Saratoga Elks Lodge 161 and the New York State Retired Teachers Association.  Following his retirement from teaching, he volunteered to assist with cataloging photographs in the Bolster Collection—an activity that allowed him to revisit the Saratoga of his boyhood.  He was a life-long fan of the Yankees, football, and a good bourbon Manhattan.

He is survived by the love of his life, his wife, Constance Burns Foley; three children and their spouses, John and Sherri Foley, Patricia and Bruce Logan, and Colleen Foley and Robert Goldberg; his four beloved grandchildren, Melissa (and Luke) Pestow, Margaret and Joshua Foley, and James Goldberg, as well as two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.  He is also the brother of James Foley, who pre-deceased him.  Mr. Foley dedicated himself to service to the community and country he loved so dearly, and lived his life with dignity, honor, and a dry sense of humor.  His passing leaves a hole in the lives of his family that cannot be filled.

At the family's request, services will be private.

Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/ Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

In lieu of flowers, his family asks that you support a veteran's organization, cherish your loved ones, and wear a mask.

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com.