Obituary: Judith Ryan Foye, of Danbury

DANBURY, CT — Judith Ryan Foye, beloved wife of Dr. Gerard Foye, Jr., died peacefully at their home in Danbury on Thursday, February 28, 2019.

Born April 19, 1940 in Nyack, NY to William Francis and Frances Rita (McKernan) Ryan, she graduated from St. Clare's Hospital School of Nursing in New York City in 1960. She was married to Jerry in the Spring of 1963. They lived in Dublin, Ireland and then Brooklyn, NY before settling in Danbury in 1970.

While raising their seven children and working as a nurse at Glen Hill Convalescent Center, Judy returned to school at Western Connecticut State University for an advanced degree in nursing but was guided by her love of history and literature to pursue a Bachelor of Arts. She earned a degree in American Studies with a minor in English Literature, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1993, and received the Barnard Foundation Distinguished Student Award for outstanding academic achievement and service to the university and community. She attained her Master of Arts degree in English Literature in 2007.

Judy loved to travel and relished opportunities to visit every museum and art gallery along the way. She delighted in her many returns to Ireland and could retrace every step of Leopold Bloom as he crossed the city of Dublin in James Joyce's "Ulysses," provide a history of The Big House on a faraway estate in the countryside, and articulate the cultural significance of everything in between. But most of all, she simply enjoyed being there with Jerry, reminded of places and events in the early years of a marriage that perpetually seemed to be the early days of love over all their years together. She treasured being anywhere with him, with her children, with her grandchildren. She took great interest in each, reveling in their accomplishments, comforting their wounds, counseling their aspirations, while leaving every one of them to feel they were most important to her. Cherished most of all were those days the family was all together, whether a holiday, baptism, birthday, graduation, wedding, or on a Cape Cod beach. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.

In addition to lots of books, Judy leaves behind many friends and a family that was always the center of her universe. She is survived by her husband, daughter Virginia Foye of Mahwah, NJ and granddaughters Kristina, Juliana, Siobhan, Roisin, and Eilis; daughter Annemarie and Chris McCarthy of Middlebury, and their children Conor, Ciara, and Brendan; son Gerard Foye III of Palm Beach, FL; daughter Clare and Paul Messuri of Danbury, and their children Caroline, Paul Jr., Aidan, and Erin; daughter Laura and Daniel Levin of Blue Bell, PA and their children Clare, Danny, and Alex; son William and Michelle Foye of Danbury, and their children Shea, Ryan, Declan, and Ronan; daughter Deirdre and Robert Martin of Beacon, NY and their children Elizabeth and William. Besides her parents, Judy was predeceased by her younger brother, Matthew, in 2008.

Judy was a lifelong learner and grateful for the opportunities provided by Western Connecticut State University, where a scholarship and special memorial in the Ruth A. Haas Library has been established. If donations are to be made, please contact Professor Edward Hagan, Department of Writing, Higgins Hall 205, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810.