Larry David Foley
September 6, 1949 - June 6, 2013
Columbus, GA- Larry David Foley of Columbus, GA died Thursday, June 6, 2013 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 63.
He was born September 6, 1949 in New Albany, Indiana to Thelma Lee Foley and Robert Lee Foley. Larry was a 35-year Ledger Enquirer veteran, serving in editor positions in the News Department.
He was preceded in death by his father and beloved wife of 44 years, Linda Rogers Foley.
He is survived by his children; daughter, Tina Kimberly Foley, sons, Jeremy David Foley (Cindy) and Brian Jeffery Foley, grandchildren, Nick and Alyssa Foley, his mother, Thelma Lee Long, brothers, Richard Foley and Ed Long, and sister, Tami Trevarthen all of Kentucky.
The family wishes to extend thanks to Dr. Morten Berenson, Dr. Andrew Pippas and the John B. Amos Cancer Center, and Dr. Charles McCall. Also sincere gratitude to Vista Care Hospice, their nurses and staff, especially to Melissa Moncus.
Those who wish may sign the on-line guest registry at www.mcmullenfuneralhome.com.

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The following article is in the online version of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer on June 7, 2013, and should appear in the paper people receive in the morning.  I will also forward the obituary when it is published.  Larry was a member of the class of 1967.

Former long-time Ledger-Enquirer copy editor Larry Foley dies at 63

Larry David Foley, 63, for decades a fixture on the Ledger-Enquirer’s copy desk, died Thursday after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.

Born in New Albany, Indiana, in 1949, Foley later moved to Columbus and graduated from Baker High School in 1967, then joined the Ledger-Enquirer in 1973.

Foley spent his career on the copy desk, at the end serving as news editor and copy desk chief. He despised errors getting into the paper and he wasn’t shy about pointing out the errors he prevented from being published, his former colleagues recalled.

Jerry Gibson, who worked at the paper from 1964 to 2008, save for a brief stint at another paper, said he had visited Foley recently.

“Larry was a real professional. He knew his job and he did it well,” Gibson said. “You couldn’t slip anything past him.”

Retired reporter Harry Franklin, who started at the paper two years before Foley, said the veteran editor’s eye for detail made him very valuable to the newsroom.

“He was very, very sharp as an editor,” Franklin said. “In newspapering you need people who can pick up on mistakes, and Larry was the guy who would question everything. He was an outstanding journalist.”

Outside of work, Foley enjoyed fishing and restoring classic cars, such as the pristine red 1964 Pontiac GTO he drove for years.

Former Ledger-Enquirer artist and art director Don Coker started at the paper as a copy boy (errand runner) as did Foley. Coker and Foley also shared an affinity for restoring old cars.

“That’s something else we had in common, being a gear-head” Coker said. “That old GTO was his pride and joy.”

Coker also recalled Foley’s renowned eye for detail.

“Whenever I saw him walking across the newsroom headed toward the art department, I’d think, ‘Oh no, he’s found a mistake in some map or graphic,’” Coker laughed. “Anytime I saw Larry heading across the newsroom, I knew I had more work ahead of me.”

Foley was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and had to retire from the newspaper in 2009, 36 years after first being hired.

Foley was a quiet and private person who nonetheless wrote a very personal column about his cancer, urging other men not to ignore prostate warning signs as he had.

“Early detection is crucial,” he wrote. “If caught early, any prostate problem can probably be treated successfully. Only if you wait, like I did, can it become a deadly problem.”

Foley and his late wife Linda married in 1967 and had three children, Tina, Jeremy and Jeff. Linda Foley died in 2012.