Longtime Williamsburg School Principal Jack Foley to be laid to rest on Sunday

Longtime Williamsburg educator Jack V. Foley, who died Wednesday at age 64, will be laid to rest on Sunday.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. at the Davis Addition of Highland Park Cemetery with Rev. Gerald Mullins officiating.

The family will receive friends after 5 p.m. Saturday at Ellison Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Williamsburg City School media center, or to a charity of your choice.

Foley served as a teacher and longtime principal of the school. He was principal at Williamsburg Independent School from 1969 until 1992.

“He will be remembered for his high expectations of performance and his unique, carrying concerns for all students,” officials at Williamsburg School stated in a Facebook page post announcing his passing. “Mr. Foley demanded excellence!”

Brenda Woods, who attended Williamsburg, recalled being in Foley’s high school geography class in the early 60’s.

“He was really good,” Woods said of Foley as a teacher explaining that while he was very strict, he was also thorough.

“He had a wonderful personality and was very friendly and nice,” Woods said when asked about what Foley was like outside of the classroom. “He would help you anyway he could!”

Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison and his wife Maria, who both taught at Williamsburg during the last several years of Foley’s tenure as principal, described him as everything a principal should strive to be.

“He was the epitome of a school leader,” the couple wrote on their Facebook page. “In our eyes, he was just about perfect.”

Before going into education, Foley served in the United States Air Force. After being discharged from active duty in 1953, he continued serving in the Air Force Reserve until retiring in 1990 with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

He also spent 12 years with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as a scout master.

During the flood of 1979 along the Cumberland River, his scouts turned out at the Whitley County Public Library to move materials from the lower level in order to protect it from flood damage.

They also aided businesses along Main Street in Williamsburg in moving materials ahead of the flood waters.

Foley is survived by his wife, Anna Campbell Foley, sons Jack V. Foley, Jr., and James W. Foley, along with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Condolences may be made to the family at www.ellisonfh.com