Glenn Norman Foy

Glenn Norman Foy

1956-2015. The family of Glenn Norman Foy is deeply grieved to report his death, on April 3, 2015, in the crash of his private plane in Boone County, Indiana. Glenn's inexhaustible energy, self-discipline and inborn technical aptitude combined with a quiet generosity, a deep-seated sense of fairness and honesty and an adventurous spirit of fun to create a broad network of friends, family, associates and clients bound to him by respect, loyalty and affection.

Born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1956, Glenn accompanied his family to the United States not long after, when they emigrated to New Castle, Indiana. He attended St. Anne School through third grade, when the family relocated to Indianapolis. Glenn attended St. Joan of Arc primary school and Northview Junior High School in Indianapolis, and graduated from North Central High School in 1974.

In junior high, Glenn embarked on a lifelong love affair with the internal combustion engine, leading to a years-long parade of vehicles that would range from dirtbikes to dumptrucks to sportscars to airplanes. He began to show an impressive knack for those vehicles' mechanics and materials, proving adept as both a craftsman and a self-taught engineer.

In 1983, he built on those skills to create a company, Best Equipment & Welding Inc. Originally dedicated to constructing and servicing loading-dock equipment, the firm would become an all-purpose fabricator of metal products, with 22 full-time employees. The steady growth of the business required him to spend increasing amounts of time behind his desk, but Glenn considered that merely a necessary evil: His associates say he never went a day without getting his hands dirty.

Glenn played as hard as he worked, and was an avid long-distance cyclist who participated in multiple 24-hour rides. In 1988 he took up skydiving, which soon developed into a full-blown interest in flying. He bought his first plane, a Cessna 177 Cardinal, in the early 1990s, and followed that some years later with the purchase of an aerobatic Yak-52 military trainer. He got great joy out of flying the Yak and, best of all, made sure others did too: Numerous friends, relatives and acquaintances have had the pleasure of soaring through Indiana's skies with Glenn at the controls. In time he linked up with other pilots in the "warbird" community, becoming a respected regular participant in exhibition flying at airshows and other events.

Glenn is survived by his siblings, Barry (May Wu), Wendy Brewster and Anne Eyl (Steve); nieces and nephews Reid, Derek and Kiley Brewster, and Gabrielle and Alec Eyl; and Sheryl Vaughn, his companion of eight years. He was preceded in death by his parents, Winfred and Margaret Foy, and his friend and brother-in-law Mark Brewster. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, May 3, at the Palomino Ballroom, 481 S. County Rd. 1200 East, Zionsville, IN, at 1pm; the family invites all who cherish Glenn's memory to attend. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Anna's House (annashousemsc.org). Arrangements entrusted to Leppert Mortuary - Smith Carmel Chapel.