Irving Flint "Bud" Foote, was born August 19, 1930, in Linconia,
New Hampshire to Lewis Ford and Margaret Flint Foote. He grew up in
Lincoln, Northwood and Goffstown, New Hampshire and graduated from Goffstown
High School in l947.
Bud was an Eagle Scout.
Bud attended Princeton University. He spent his junior year in France
studying at the Sorbonne and hitchhiking around Europe. This year of
adventure was the source of many of his ideas about food, drink, jazz
clubs and how to live the good life. He crafted his adventures and ideas
into the stories he told, perhaps to you. He was fluent in French, opening
doors to many friendships.
Princeton shaped Bud's intellectual life and critical capacities and
afforded him strong friendships that he maintained throughout his life.
He was awarded honors in English when he received his Bachelor of Arts,
Summa Cum Laude, from Princeton in l952; Phi Beta Kappa, First in English.
In l958 Bud earned a Master of Arts in English from the University of
Connecticut. He credits the UConn graduate school with teaching him
how to teach college students. Friends from UConn included Mary Arnold
Twining, retired Director of Doctor of Arts in Humanities and Undergraduate
Humanities Programs at Clark Atlanta University, with whom he maintained
a lifelong friendship.
At UConn he met and married Caryl Kenig. They had two sons, William
Lewis Foote, II, and James Murray Foote, both residents of New York
City.
After Bud and Cayrl divorced, he met and married Martha (Miki) Rush.
They had two children, Anna Kathleen Copello and Joseph Nathaniel Foote.
Both live with their families in Atlanta. Bud and Miki divorced in 1967.
Bud and Ruth Anne Quinn married in l968. They had two sons, Samuel
Joshua Foote and Lewis Ford Foote, II, both of Atlanta.
Bud became an instructor in English at the Georgia Institute of Technology
in the fall of l957, beginning a career that spanned 40 years. Students,
books and colleagues at Georgia Tech nurtured his interests and pursuits,
which included teaching, reading and writing. He developed courses in
speed reading, African American literature and science fiction, and
brought noted science fiction authors to campus. He also wrote topical
songs in support of peace, civil rights and women's rights. His songs
of protest opposed war, highways, and a variety of other issues. He
played guitar and banjo and co-founded The Atlanta Folk Music Society.
Bud was an author and poet. His publications include The Connecticut
Yankee in the Twentieth Century; Travel to the Past in Science Fiction
and Between Me and the Beach; Poems from Dauphin Island, and St. Petersburg
Poems: A Multimedia Presentation. He wrote jacket blurbs for noted science
fiction authors and book reviews for The National Review, The Atlanta
Constitution and the Detroit News. Unpublished works include the poems
for Ruth Anne that are included in this booklet.
Bud wrote more than 100 "Foibles" for The Great Speckled
Bird, an alternative Atlanta newspaper published in the '60s & '70s
under the pen name "Og, King of Bashan." He presented and
published scholarly papers and served as a visiting professor at the
Academy of Science in St. Petersburg, Russia. He retired in 1999 as
a professor from Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Culture and Communication,
and was named Professor Emeritus.
In late 1979 Bud and Ruth Anne sponsored a family recently arrived
from Vietnam; Ngoc (Kim) Nuegen, her brother Thein and her two young
daughters Li and Lynn, who, with their families, continue to be dear
friends.
After a pin-point stroke in May 2004, Bud confronted several challenging
physical episodes over the year with his usual New England stoic tenacity.
On March 12, he died peacefully at home from complications of a stroke,
surrounded by his wife and family members, close friends and pastor.
He is survived by a rainbow of friends from many places and the close
knit family which was so important to him:
Wife Ruth Anne
Son and Daughter-in-law William Lewis II and Monica
Sons James Murray, Joseph Nathaniel, Samuel Joshua and Lewis Ford II
Daughter and Son-in-law Anna Kathleen and Roger Copello
Grandchildren Cayrl Lucia, Matthew Tyler Copello, Kathrine Margaret
and Victoria Rose
Mother Margaret Foote
Brother and Sister-in-law William Lewis and Mary
Nieces Debbie Merrit and Lisa Mullin & her daughter Allison Nicole
Sister-and-brother-in-law Martha Jane Quinn and Fred Raedels
Nephews John Mark Raedels and children Elizabeth Schuyler and Jarod
Mark, and Christopher Quinn Raedels, wife Edna Lynette and children
Quinn Walter and Carson-Faye.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to, The Georgia Tech Library,
Bud Foote Fiction Memorial, Georgia Tech School of Literature, Communications
and Culture attn: Ken Knoesple at GA Tech, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0165;
or Clifton Sanctuary Ministries, Inc. 369 Connecticut Ave. NE, Atlanta,
GA 30307.
The family will receive visitors at home; Tuesday March 15 from 4:00
to 8:00. Memorial services will be held at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church,
118 Second Ave. Decatur; March 16 at 4:30.