John J. Foody

John J. Foody passed away peacefully early on the morning of Monday, July 28, 2014, surrounded by his children. He was born on July 14, 1925 in County Sligo, Ireland to Nora (O'Neil) and William Foody. He was predeceased by his four siblings, Noreen, Mary, Liam, and Bridget. In 1948, he moved to America and soon joined the Army. He was honorably discharged in 1953, began working as a carpenter for Con Edison, married Catherine Grimes and settled in Woodlawn. John and Catherine had 5 children together, before Catherine passed away in 1963. In 1965, he was remarried to Ruth Sullivan and they moved to Blauvelt in 1966, where he has resided since. Two years later, they had their sixth child. Ruth predeceased him in 1998. Since moving to Rockland from the Bronx, John was a moving force in all facets of service, whether it be in his heritage, his church, or his local community. The local Irish community knows him as a 60-year member of the Sligo Men's Association, a member of the Division 5 Rockland County AOH in Blauvelt, co-founder of the Rockland Irish-American Cultural Center, the AOH St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshall in 1985, and "The Voice of the Feis" in Rockland County. John was one of the pillar parishioners at St. Catharine's Church. He also gave his time as the chairman of the New York State AOH Catholic Action and Buy Irish campaign, a member of the Orangetown Planning Board, a volunteer Eucharistic minister for patients at Nyack Hospital, and founder of the Northwest Hospice fundraising, which raises money for Hospice in both the northwest section of Ireland and Rockland County. He was a proud recipient of the National AOH Lifetime Achievement Award and Sligo Man of the Year. John is survived by his children, Ann Perrigo, Catherine Fullem, Noreen Wistreich, Liam, Eileen Kopunek, and John, Jr., and daughters-in-law, Patricia (Gorman) and Jill (Miller), and his sons-in-law, Charles Perrigo, Peter Wistreich, and Michael Kopunek. He is predeceased by his sons-in-law, Rocky Barone and Thomas Fullem. He was proud of his grandchildren, Edward & Jasmine Perrigo, Charles Perrigo, Melissa (Barone) & Ray Williams, Catherine Wistreich, Robert Fullem, Samantha (Kopunek) & Dennis Scherer, Justin Kopunek, John, Liam & Rose Foody, and Sean & Ryan Foody. John was blessed with two great-grandchildren, Jacob Perrigo and Sydney Scherer, with one more on the way. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. His family will receive visitors at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Home in New City on Thursday and Friday from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. His Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, 10am, at St. Catharine's Church in Blauvelt with interment to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Northwest Hospice, care of 146 Summit Ave, Tappan, NY 10983, or to the AOH Division 5 Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 17, Blauvelt, NY 10913.