TBDBITL Alumni Club

The Best Damn Band In The Land - The Ohio State University Marching Band Alumni

Terence Bryan Foley

September 4, 1940 - December 14, 2007

Terence B. Foley, 67, on December 14, 2007. Beloved husband of Amanda Bennett and devoted father of Terry and Georgia Foley, he was also a scholar, linguist and musician.

He earned a Ph.D. in Asian Studies from Columbia University with a concentration in Chinese and Japanese languages, literature and histories. He spoke Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. He never tired of learning. In his final months he was studying the violin and Arabic.

Terence served with Naval Intelligence as a linguist and was also in the Air Force. In the early 1980s he opened one of the first U.S. trade offices in China, representing the American Soybean Association. In the 1960s, he worked as a San Francisco cable car conductor, and later for the Vermont corrections department and the Missouri agriculture department. He played trombone, trumpet and banjo and performed with Dixieland bands on the tuba and string base. Terence taught at several universities including Temple University, LaSalle University, Drexel University, University of Kentucky, Portland State University and Oglethorpe University. He worked as a radio newswriter for the Wall Street Journal and reporter for the Associated Press. He was an editor for the CNN-Interactive Web site, a free lance writer and early in his career worked as a disc jockey and sports photographer.

In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by siblings Fred, Charles, Bill, Dick and Rita; cousins Dale, Gene, Margo, Glenn, Miles and Jane; and in-laws Janet, Peter, Kathryn, Alix, Greylin and Ally.

Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing Monday 10 am at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 313 Pine Street, Philadelphia, followed by Services at 11 am.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the Terence B. Foley Fund, c/o 6 Harvest Drive, Pennington, New Jersey 08534, which will assist children in Philadelphia. in memory of his compassion and generosity.

Terence was a member of the marching band in 1958. He played sousaphone and baritone.