Adelaide Mary Foy died peacefully at Middleton, Idaho, on the afternoon of Friday, June 25, 2010. She was born October 24, 1916, on her parents’ homestead outside of Bainville, Montana, the second child and first daughter of Frederick R. Harvey (1885-1968) and Gertrude Louise Burton (1893-1969). Her father was minister of the Congregational church at nearby Intake, Montana, and he also worked as a circuit preacher serving Savage and Plevna.
Between 1919 and 1926 her family lived in Genoa Junction, Elcho, Gleason, and Dudley, all in Wisconsin, where she attended primary schools. In 1926 they returned to Bainville, and subsequently she entered high school there, staying in town during the week, working for her board and room. She graduated from Bainville High School in 1933.
She attended Intermountain College at Helena, where she experienced the destructive 1935 earthquakes that destroyed the college buildings, finishing her teacher’s certificate the following year in Great Falls, where Intermountain had temporarily relocated. She began her career as a teacher in a rural school outside Bainville in the fall of 1936.
In 1937 her family moved to Dixon, Montana, and she taught in rural schools in the area. In 1942 she married James Beauford “Jim” Foy, owner of a barber shop in Ronan, Montana. The two of them spent the war years working in the Kaiser shipyard at Portland, Oregon. Their son David was born in 1946, and their daughter Judy followed in 1948. In 1948 they relocated to Hot Springs, Montana, where her husband operated the Rainbow Barber Shop, and where she took up her teaching career again in 1952. She furthered her education by attending summer school in Missoula and studying by correspondence. She was a talented and skillful teacher, becoming Elementary Principal in 1964, the same year she was awarded her Masters Degree in Education from the University of Montana.
The family moved to Columbia Falls, Montana, in 1964, where she continued teaching until she retired as Vice Principal in 1979. She remained active in community affairs and in 1991 was named Montana Senior Citizen of the Year. She and her husband traveled widely in North America after retirement.
She was predeceased by her husband, by her brothers Torrance, Almont and Bill Harvey and her sisters Nellie Richardson and Lucille Palmer. She is survived by her brothers Bob and Dale Harvey, of Kalispell, Montana; by her son David of Calgary, and her daughter Judy Luce, of Caldwell, Idaho; by grandchildren Mandi Heinle (Ken) of Hathaway, Montana and Cory Luce (Tera) of Boise, Idaho; by great-grandchildren Kassidi and Kadie Heinle, Jasper and Cody Luce, and Jeff Wood of Henderson, Nevada.
Adelaide was part of a large and loving family. They were an important part of her life and she enjoyed researching and sharing the family’s history and genealogy – and just spending time with them at the many family gatherings throughout the years.
She will always be loved and remembered by her family, friends and the hundreds of students whose lives are better for having experienced her generous heart, her kind and loving spirit and her undaunted positive attitude.
A celebration of Adelaide’s life will be held Monday, July 5 at Lakeside Chapel in Lakeside, Montana at 11:00 am. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.