Phillip Gene Foote died peacefully on Friday, January 30th, 2026
Phil was born on May 2nd, 1935 in Port Arthur, Texas, along with twin sister, Phyllis. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High, and matriculated to the University of Texas where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and was a member of the Texas Cowboys service organization. He graduated with a BA in Education in 1957. He later received his MA in Linguistics/Education from UT in 1971.
After receiving his BA, Phil continued his education journey by winning a scholarship to the University of Chicago in 1957-1958 where he studied theology. He returned home in 1958 and taught Spanish in the Port Arthur Independent School District for the next year.
In 1959, Phil went to live in Salzburg, Austria as part of the World Council of Churches to aid with Hungarian refugee relief. While there, he received a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship to teach English at The American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1961. He quickly established himself as the Head of the English Department at The Farm School, where he developed and published textbooks for teaching English as a second language. He spent the next four years teaching and immersing himself in Greek life and culture before returning to the United States and the University of Texas to continue his Masters graduate work. He served as an advisor to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and while playing the piano for his fraternity brothers, he met the love of his life, Mary Alice Swift, who sang along with him. They married soon after and the newlyweds headed back to Thessaloniki where Phil returned to his position with The American Farm School. A lifelong dedication to the Farm School followed, as Phil would one day lead as head of its Board of Trustees, along with his helping coordinate a program, Greek Summer, in which American students spend the summer working and living at both The Farm School and small Greek villages.
Phil and Mary returned to the United States in 1969, so that he could take a job with the Greenhill School (a pre-K through 12th grade school) in Dallas, Texas. His initial role was as Head of the Lower School (grades 1-4), but he quickly added the Head of Middle School (grades 5-8) role the next year. Phil was named Head of School of Greenhill in 1976, becoming the school’s second Head, a role he held until 1992. Phil was widely regarded as a visionary in innovative education. He honored the dignity of every child and had a keen sense of the unique learning styles of each student. He often delighted students by greeting them by name - seemingly knowing every student in the school. He accepted the Excellence in Private Education Award from President Ronald Reagan in 1985 on behalf of Greenhill School. He received a Special Recognition in Education Award from the North Texas State University Professional Administrators and Supervisors Council in 1988. During his tenure as Head of School, Phil pushed for Greenhill to connect with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dallas to extend the school’s impact on the greater Dallas community. He urged fellow independent schools to follow. Outside of Greenhill, Phil was active in the Rotary Club of Dallas where he received the Paul Harris Award for exceptional service to the community in 1988.
Phil and Mary moved to New York City in the fall of 1992 so that he could lead the Horace Mann School over the next three years. In 1995, he returned to his elementary school roots by taking the Head of School job at the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he served for the next eight years.
Phil served as the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest President in 1982 and as Secretary to the Executive Committee of the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls from 1990 to 1992. Phil served on numerous boards as a trustee during and after he retired from school administration: Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the American Farm School, Vice-Chair - the New York School for Special Education, The Professional Children’s School, The Cornerstone Literacy Project at The University of Pennsylvania, The Winston School (Dallas, Texas), Boys and Girls Clubs of Dallas, The Shelton School (Dallas), The Town School of New York, The New York City Guild of Independent Schools, The Special Care School of Dallas, The Texas Association of Non-Public Schools, The Metrocrest Medical Foundation (Texas). Additionally, Phil served as an advisor to the boards of: The YMCA of Dallas, The Boy Scouts of Dallas, The University of Dallas Education Department, The Dallas County Community College System. Phil also maintained his passion for international service and Greece as a Fulbright Scholarship consultant to Greek Schools from 1965 to 1969 and continued to support the American Farm School in multiple ways over several decades.
Though he always considered himself a Texan, he adopted NYC as his home and enjoyed summers in coastal Maine. Outside of education, Phil was well known for his ability to sit down at any piano and play by ear, entertaining the room with showtunes and classics alike. A master gardener, Phil spent his retirement years nurturing the gardens of his and Mary’s New York City residence (as well as the gardens of his children), and always entertaining his six grandchildren with music, engaging conversation, and cheer on their trips into Manhattan and on visits to Owls Head, Maine.
Phil is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Swift Foote; his three children: David Foote of Los Angeles, California, Andrew Foote and his wife Blake Foote of Brooklyn, New York, and Amy McCooe and her husband Matthew of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, his grandchildren: Gray Sea, Finn, Kate, and Maggie McCooe, and John and Luke Foote.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Phil’s memory may be made to the school.
Phil was born on May 2nd, 1935 in Port Arthur, Texas, along with twin sister, Phyllis. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High, and matriculated to the University of Texas where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and was a member of the Texas Cowboys service organization. He graduated with a BA in Education in 1957. He later received his MA in Linguistics/Education from UT in 1971.
After receiving his BA, Phil continued his education journey by winning a scholarship to the University of Chicago in 1957-1958 where he studied theology. He returned home in 1958 and taught Spanish in the Port Arthur Independent School District for the next year.
In 1959, Phil went to live in Salzburg, Austria as part of the World Council of Churches to aid with Hungarian refugee relief. While there, he received a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship to teach English at The American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1961. He quickly established himself as the Head of the English Department at The Farm School, where he developed and published textbooks for teaching English as a second language. He spent the next four years teaching and immersing himself in Greek life and culture before returning to the United States and the University of Texas to continue his Masters graduate work. He served as an advisor to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and while playing the piano for his fraternity brothers, he met the love of his life, Mary Alice Swift, who sang along with him. They married soon after and the newlyweds headed back to Thessaloniki where Phil returned to his position with The American Farm School. A lifelong dedication to the Farm School followed, as Phil would one day lead as head of its Board of Trustees, along with his helping coordinate a program, Greek Summer, in which American students spend the summer working and living at both The Farm School and small Greek villages.
Phil and Mary returned to the United States in 1969, so that he could take a job with the Greenhill School (a pre-K through 12th grade school) in Dallas, Texas. His initial role was as Head of the Lower School (grades 1-4), but he quickly added the Head of Middle School (grades 5-8) role the next year. Phil was named Head of School of Greenhill in 1976, becoming the school’s second Head, a role he held until 1992. Phil was widely regarded as a visionary in innovative education. He honored the dignity of every child and had a keen sense of the unique learning styles of each student. He often delighted students by greeting them by name - seemingly knowing every student in the school. He accepted the Excellence in Private Education Award from President Ronald Reagan in 1985 on behalf of Greenhill School. He received a Special Recognition in Education Award from the North Texas State University Professional Administrators and Supervisors Council in 1988. During his tenure as Head of School, Phil pushed for Greenhill to connect with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dallas to extend the school’s impact on the greater Dallas community. He urged fellow independent schools to follow. Outside of Greenhill, Phil was active in the Rotary Club of Dallas where he received the Paul Harris Award for exceptional service to the community in 1988.
Phil and Mary moved to New York City in the fall of 1992 so that he could lead the Horace Mann School over the next three years. In 1995, he returned to his elementary school roots by taking the Head of School job at the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he served for the next eight years.
Phil served as the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest President in 1982 and as Secretary to the Executive Committee of the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls from 1990 to 1992. Phil served on numerous boards as a trustee during and after he retired from school administration: Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the American Farm School, Vice-Chair - the New York School for Special Education, The Professional Children’s School, The Cornerstone Literacy Project at The University of Pennsylvania, The Winston School (Dallas, Texas), Boys and Girls Clubs of Dallas, The Shelton School (Dallas), The Town School of New York, The New York City Guild of Independent Schools, The Special Care School of Dallas, The Texas Association of Non-Public Schools, The Metrocrest Medical Foundation (Texas). Additionally, Phil served as an advisor to the boards of: The YMCA of Dallas, The Boy Scouts of Dallas, The University of Dallas Education Department, The Dallas County Community College System. Phil also maintained his passion for international service and Greece as a Fulbright Scholarship consultant to Greek Schools from 1965 to 1969 and continued to support the American Farm School in multiple ways over several decades.
Though he always considered himself a Texan, he adopted NYC as his home and enjoyed summers in coastal Maine. Outside of education, Phil was well known for his ability to sit down at any piano and play by ear, entertaining the room with showtunes and classics alike. A master gardener, Phil spent his retirement years nurturing the gardens of his and Mary’s New York City residence (as well as the gardens of his children), and always entertaining his six grandchildren with music, engaging conversation, and cheer on their trips into Manhattan and on visits to Owls Head, Maine.
Phil is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Swift Foote; his three children: David Foote of Los Angeles, California, Andrew Foote and his wife Blake Foote of Brooklyn, New York, and Amy McCooe and her husband Matthew of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, his grandchildren: Gray Sea, Finn, Kate, and Maggie McCooe, and John and Luke Foote.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Phil’s memory may be made to the school.
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