Edward Francis Foulks, M.D., Ph.D.

1937 - 2018

Edward Francis Foulks, MD, PhD passed away peacefully at home after a difficult battle with Strain A of the flu and most recently, complications of a blood disorder on Saturday, September 1, 2018.
Dr. Foulks was born June 5, 1937 in Utica, Michigan.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 25 years, Janice Thomas Foulks, his daughter, Cami (Matt) Flannery, siblings Robert (Denine) Foulks, Janet (Ralph) Henson and Marie Libby, as well as Leonard (Cathy) Thomas, Donald (Tricia) Thomas, and Mary Gail Thomas (Harry, DDS) Kolodney, grandchildren Eva Rose and William Zelevansky, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Edward William Foulks, his brother William Foulks, and parents William Abraham Foulks and Marie Klotilda Stumpf Foulks.
Dr. Foulks was a Psychiatrist, Anthropologist, and Psychoanalyst and treasured his associations with his colleagues throughout the world. He received his BA at the University of Michigan in 1958 followed by a MDCM (Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery) in 1962 from McGill University School of Medicine in Montreal, Canada. His residency training, both in Child and Adult Psychiatry, was at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute of Philadelphia. In 1972 he received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, after research with the North Alaskan Eskimos at the University of Alaska, Institute of Artic Biology. He was visiting Professor of Psychiatry in Shiraz, Iran in 1977.
From 1975 – 1986 Dr. Foulks was Director of Residency Education in Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. He also served at Hahnemann Medical College as Director of Residency Training and Associate Professor of Mental Health Sciences from 1970 – 1975. He came to New Orleans in 1986 when he was appointed the Sellars-Polchow Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and Neurology at Tulane University School of Medicine. While at Tulane he served as Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in New Orleans as Associate Chief of Staff for Education and Chief of Psychiatry. Following retirement from Tulane, he was Medical Director at Southeast State Hospital in Mandeville. Post Katrina, Dr. Foulks went to Baton Rouge to facilitate a team of mental health professionals who worked with the FEMA Trailer Camp residents through the Capital Area Community Mental Health Center and then as Medical Director of East Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority. Most recently he served as Clinical Educational Supervisor and Senior Staff Psychiatrist for the Metropolitan Human Services District in New Orleans.
He was an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Dr. Foulks was President of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association and the Orleans Parish Medical Society where he also served on the Board of Governors and received the Leadership Recognition Award. He was President of both New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center and the Mental Health Association in Metropolitan New Orleans. He was active in the American Medical Association, the Louisiana State Medical Society where he was a Delegate to the Assembly, and the American Psychiatric Association as a Distinguished Life Fellow. For each organization he served on numerous committees. Dr. Foulks also authored many publications that were published in peer reviewed medical journals.
His awards have included membership in AOA Honor Society, AMA House of Delegates Award, the NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill), Exemplary Psychiatrists Award and teaching awards at the national and local levels. His advocacy involvement has included the Board of Directors of NAMI, co-founder of the National Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture, and active membership in the American College of Psychiatrists, the Benjamin Rush Society, and the Council of the World Psychiatric Association. Dr. Foulks was listed in Top Doctors in Community Psychiatry by Louisiana Life in 2016 and New Orleans Magazine in 2017.
Dr. Foulks lived in the French Quarter with his wife, Janice and his volunteer service in many community organizations included French Quarter Festivals, Inc., French Quarter Citizens, Patio Planters, and French Quarter Neighborhood Watch programs. He and his wife Janice were Co-Chairs for the opening of the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center at the Old Ursuline Convent in 2004. In 2005 he received the Order of St. Louis Medallion from the Archdiocese of New Orleans for service to the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France where he served as a Minister of Hospitality.
He loved the culture of New Orleans, growing orchids and other exotic tropical plants, travel to Italy and Vatican City, and greatly appreciated living in the Vieux Carre. He regarded among his extended family his neighbors, personnel in the hospitality/restaurant industry, the Aesculapians, and Carnival associations, all treasured relationships. Janice extends gratitude to the many in the medical field that cared for him, particularly to Brobson Lutz, MD and Frank Wilklow, MD, for their dedicated service over the years, and his caregivers, especially Lionel Nelson.
A memorial Mass to celebrate Dr. Foulks' life will be held in the Vieux Carre on Saturday, September 8, 2018, noon at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France, with visitation beginning at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to NAMI (1538 Louisiana Avenue) or the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France (615 Pere Antoine Alley).