Frederic Conar Foley

Frederic Conar “Rick” Foley was born August 13,1946 in Clay Center, Kansas to Bonnie B. Traver and Andrew George Foley. As a small child, Rick traveled by boat to post-war Germany and Austria to join his father who was serving in the U.S. Army as part of the occupation forces.

Rick experienced many things as a boy in Europe that shaped the man that he became. He learned German from nannies and would translate for his parents. While playing in a sandlot with children from other different countries, Rick used a pejorative term for a child of a different European nationality. His father backed him against a wall and told him in clear terms that intolerance would not be allowed, and that they all had khaki blood in their veins. His parents also took Rick to visit a concentration camp as a young child to teach him about the horrors of war. The memory of the stench remained with him.

After many years in Europe, Rick’s family moved back to the United States. He lived in Pittsfield, Massachusetts where his father commanded the Army Reserve. He learned to stand up to a bully who tried to steal the money he earned from his newspaper route. Later, he moved with his mother and sister to his Uncle Fred’s farm in eastern Pennsylvania when his father was sent to Korea.

During Rick’s high school years, the family was stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky where Rick attended high school for three years. The beginning of the space race with the Russians fascinated him and led him to study math and science. He loved shooting model rockets. Rick also enjoyed riding horses, a legacy from his father and grandfather who were both professional horsemen.

After Rick’s junior year in high school, his father retired from the army. The family moved to Baltimore County in Maryland where his father managed Grasslands horse farm. Rick graduated from Hereford High School in 1964. He briefly attended Towson State Teacher’s College before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in November 1964.

Unsurprisingly, Rick’s vocational assessment slotted him for a position as a linguist in the Air Force. He learned Russian at Syracuse University in an intensive one-year language immersion program with native speakers. Rick was stationed at Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey where he worked as a ground intercept operator. There, he enjoyed traveling, embracing the culture and connecting with Turkish people. Rick learned to sail on the Sea of Marmara from an elderly Turkish sailor, and adored sailing for the rest of his life.

After completing his first four years in the Air Force, Rick wanted to fly. In 1968, serving on an airborne crew as a linguist meant going to Southeast Asia. Rick was trained as a North Vietnamese linguist at Georgetown University. He received Survival Training and Jump Training. The nondeployment of his main chute during one of his training jumps resulted in a lengthy hospitalization.

Rick received orders to report to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the 6990th Security Squadron. For a year, he was part of the Combat Apple team when they flew twenty- hour missions over the Gulf of Tonkin. He had temporary duty stations in Cam Rahn Bay and Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. Pending discharge, Rick was stationed in Taiwan at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base.

Upon discharge from the Air Force, Rick devoted 100% percent of his energy to completing his college education. He received a BS from San Angelo State in Texas. He later completed a Master of Business Administration at Loyola University in Baltimore and a Master in Information Sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

Rick had many jobs during his lifetime. He spoke fondly of haying and exercising horses with his father as a young man. Rick often worked two jobs and always worked while in school. Rick was a consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick, a Regional Sales Finance Manager at Digital Equipment, an Enterprise Architect in the International Division at IBM, an Enterprise Architect at the Office of Personnel Management, and the Chief Architect at the U.S. Coast Guard. While at OPM and the Coast Guard, he served as an adjunct instructor at Johns Hopkins, sometimes teaching more in a year than a full-time faculty member.

Rick was always an excellent worker, team member, and leader. In 1972, his flight commander wrote:

“I cannot recall observing an individual working for me who has displayed more pure dedication and professionalism than Staff Sgt. Foley. His sense of loyalty, integrity and honesty is manifested daily in the superb quality of his job performance. His foremost goal, as a matter of routine, is total mission success through the most expeditious and efficient resource use. To accomplish this he gives of himself freely and willingly. Significantly, he has enthused his subordinates with the same attitude. As a result, his section performs as a precision team, ever mindful of its goal.”

Rick emulated the dedicated work ethic of his Sergeant Major father: work hard, put your troops first, and trust them to do their job until proven otherwise. Pre-pandemic, he permitted his team at the Coast Guard to work from home, preparing them well for the Covid 19 crisis.

Rick had an innate curiosity and was a lifelong learner. He loved to talk and engage everyone in conversation. A few of his favorite subjects were technology, history, politics, genealogy, Ancient Aliens, investing, health, and longevity. His bookshelves and digital files teem with things he found of interest that he wanted to explore in more depth.

Neighbors, colleagues, and those close to him knew him for his friendliness and his wonderful smile. Rick deeply loved his family and friends, his dogs and horses, and his Irish heritage and citizenry. He believed in the worth and dignity of every person and fought hard to make our world more equitable, just, safe, and compassionate. Always supportive of the passions of the people he cared for, Rick encouraged friends and family with verbal support as well as providing equipment and supplies. He took joy in taking time to mentor younger colleagues.

In 2003 when he married his wife, Beverly Klimkowsky, he encouraged her to pick every option she wanted for their new home. He very much enjoyed home improvement projects, and through the years “feathered their nest” in every sense of the word. He was the ultimate provider for her, diligently planning for financial security past age 100 and creating a comfortable, secure home with many upgrades to make life easier and safer. Everything he owned was fastidiously well maintained and current. The best of anything went to his loved ones first, which is what he wanted to ensure for all of them.

Rick is survived by his wife Beverly, his stepdaughters Livia McAlee, Julia McAlee, and Lauren Chapalee, his sister, Doree Bryant and nephew, Andrew Joiner. He was preceded in death by his parents, Andrew and Bonnie Foley.

The family plans a memorial service at their home on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 12 pm Interment at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date. The family asks that you gather those you love, whether on two legs or four, and raise a glass in Rick’s memory as you share favorite stories about him.