JAMES L. FOY M.D.

I knew Jim to be a kind man, a fine poet, and a Chicago Irish catholic storyteller ready to tell his stories of New York and elsewhere to this grandnephew of P.J. Clarke's.

His appreciation of Chinese and Japanese art and poetry was amazing. His own poetry could be compared to that of the great Kenneth Rexroth.

What he says of Anton Chekhov in his poem "Turnpike Dreams" could easily apply to our feelings of gratefulness for Jim himself:

”Dr. Chekhov, I wish to express...

Some years back, Jim retrieved this old photo and sent it to many of us. It captured the family of Frank and Juliette Foy in 1938, while vacationing at Bass Lake in Indiana. Jim was 12 years old, Peter (my father) was three, and Pat was eleven. They drove 85 miles down from Chicago to spend the summer fishing and swimming. Jim remarked that it was among his fondest childhood memories. Jim's passing marks the final chapter for this happy family. I will treasure Jim's essay, "Frank Foy: a...

Jim probably saved my life. He was the first psychiatrist that I saw when I was so depressed I couldn't write. He introduced me to William Carlos Williams (another life saver), & John tBerger's "A Fortunate Man", which led me to John Eskell MD the subject of that book, with whom I also developed a warm relationship. But most of all, Jim was a guide, being a father-figure in the most exquisite and appropriate way for all the years after our therapy ended, engaging me in a response of quatrains...

i will always miss jim,my irish brother

Dear Friend—who shared his love of family, friends, art, and words so generously—your poetry, an eloquent legacy, lives on inspiring and delighting us. I am deeply grateful to have known you.

I have great memories of Uncle Jim, one was back in the summer of 1966 when our family drove our station wagon to Kensington from Downers Grove IL. He was making a corn stock out of newspapers and he would make the damn thing grow and grow and grow until it was well over 12' tall! What an amazing trick to see when your 10 years old.
My last memory was celebrating his 86th birthday with Steve and Justine, twas a great evening.
RIP Uncle Bim.

Dennis and Susan Ring, San...

Dear Cousins,
Know that all of us are thinking of you during this tough time. I will always cherish the knowledge and beauty Jim shared with me through our family history lessons. Love, Sarah