Lucy Foley (1922 – 2025)

Lucy Foley of Santa Barbara passed away peacefully on May 17, 2025.  She was 102.

Lucy was born on July 1, 1922, in Boston, MA to Armenian immigrant parents. She was the middle child of three, and the first born on US soil.  Music and singing were always a big part of her family’s life, and she and her two brothers performed together into their young adulthood.  At the beginning of the Great Depression, when Lucy was 13, her family moved to the rural community of Atkinson, New Hampshire, where she completed her secondary schooling in a one-room schoolhouse.

During WWII, while her two brothers went off to fight in the war, Lucy worked as a welder on nuclear submarines at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH, while also caring for their mother who suffered from a lengthy illness.

After the war, she returned to Boston, where she attended Boston University and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.  She then began her career as a medical technologist.

In 1955, drawn by the warm weather and palm trees, Lucy moved to Hollywood, California.

After saving up, she and a friend quit their jobs and spent six months hitchhiking around Europe and the Middle East in what would be a trip of a lifetime. Upon returning to California, she met her husband, Frank in 1958, and they were married the same year.

Lucy and Frank settled in Santa Monica, where they raised their two children, Greg and Sue.

After they retired, they moved to Cathedral City, CA. for a few years. With the births of their two grandsons in Santa Barbara, they moved to Santa Barbara County to be closer. This is where they remained.

During the early days of Edhat, Lucy and Frank were often enlisted into service by their son-in-law, Peter Sklar, to conduct various Edhat-related counting projects; among them, counting the oak trees in Oak Park, and the palm trees in Chase Palm Park.

Frank passed away in 2004, and Lucy moved to Maravilla in Santa Barbara, where she made many wonderful friends.  She spent her days playing mahjong, swimming, doing art, and walking. Even into her later years, Lucy loved to sing and play the ukelele.  Her friends often commented that she could think of a song to match any subject.  She had a great sense of humor and was always active.

Lucy is survived by her daughter, Suzanne Foley of Santa Barbara, her grandsons, Nick Sklar of Alpine Meadows, CA, and Zack Sklar of Seattle, WA.

Lucy led a very long and amazing life. Those who knew and loved her will miss her dearly, and will always be sure to raise a glass of Scotch in her honor.