Ralph A. Foote

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Ralph A. Foote

|image = RalphFoote.png

|caption = Foote in 1964

|order = 69th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont

|term_start = January 5, 1961

|term_end = January 6, 1965

|governor = F. Ray Keyser, Jr.
Philip H. Hoff

|predecessor = Robert S. Babcock

|successor = John J. Daley

|office2 = Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Middlebury

|term_start2 = January 9, 1957

|term_end2 = January 4, 1961

|predecessor2 = Chester A. Ingalls

|successor2 = Stanton S. Lazarus

|office3 = State's Attorney of Addison County, Vermont

|term_start3 = January 23, 1950

|term_end3 = August 9, 1950

|predecessor3 = John A. Calhoun

|successor3 = William S. Burrage

|birth_date = {{birth date|1923|1|22}}

|birth_place = Proctor, Vermont, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|2003|7|16|1923|1|22}}

|death_place = Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.

|resting_place = Evergreen Cemetery, West Cornwall, Vermont

|party = Republican

|spouse = Nancy Dickey Foote

|children = 5

|education = Amherst College
Albany Law School

|profession = Attorney

|allegiance = United States

|branch = Marine Corps
Marine Corps Reserve

|serviceyears = 1943–1946 (Marine Corps)
1946–1950 (Reserve)
1950–1952 (Marine Corps)
1952– 1963 (Reserve)

|rank = Captain

|battles = World War II
Korean War

}}

Ralph Albert Foote (January 22, 1923 – July 16, 2003) was an American attorney who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1961 to 1965, and a prominent attorney practicing in Middlebury, Vermont.

Early life

Foote was born in Proctor, Vermont, on January 22, 1923. He was the grandson of Lieutenant Governor Abram W. Foote.Vermont Bar Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IqU4AQAAIAAJ&q=%22ralph+a+foote%22+vermont The Vermont Bar Journal], Volume 28, 2003, page 54

Foote graduated from Amherst College in 1943 and served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, including combat at the Battle of Okinawa.Probate Counsel, Inc., [https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw8jAQAAMAAJ&q=%22ralph+a+foote%22 The Probate Counsel directory], 1966, page 978Vermont General Assembly, [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2004/acts/ACTR249.HTM House Concurrent Resolution 249], 2004 He graduated from Albany Law School in 1949 and became an attorney in Middlebury. He returned to active duty with the Marines during the Korean War.Orwell Historical Society, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3IjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22albany+law+school%22 A History of the Town of Orwell, Vermont], 2001, page 193

Career

A Republican, Foote served as Deputy State's Attorney of Addison County and interim state's attorney. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican state's attorney nomination in 1950. Foote ran successfully for the Vermont House of Representatives in 1956 and served two terms, also serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.Middlebury College, "The Campus" newspaper, [https://web.archive.org/web/20141228113804/http://middarchive.middlebury.edu/cdm/ref/collection/underpub/id/5391 Lieutenant Governor of Vermont Will Speak in Proctor on Monday], October 3, 1963Vermont Bar Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IqU4AQAAIAAJ&q=%22ralph+a+foote%22+vermont The Vermont Bar Journal], Volume 28, 2003, page 54

Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1960, he served under Republican F. Ray Keyser Jr. When Keyser lost the governorship to Philip H. Hoff in 1962, Foote won re-election. In 1964 Foote challenged Hoff, but lost badly in what turned into a wave election for Democrats nationwide.Encyclopædia Britannica, [https://books.google.com/books?id=op2jUHtFeRwC&q=%22ralph+foote%22 Britannica Book of the Year 1960], 1961, page 734Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6rvNAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ralph+a+foote%22 Collier's Encyclopedia Year Book], 1962, page 702Samuel B. Hand, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONLUwZ2Z0JsC&dq=%22ralph+foote%22+vermont+governor+1964&pg=PA248 The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854-1974], 2003, pages 249-250

Foote spent the rest of his career at the law firm of Conley and Foote in Middlebury. He also served as president of the Addison County and Vermont Bar Associations, was chairman of the Vermont Judicial Conduct Board, and chaired the Middlebury and Addison County Republican Committees.Vermont Bar Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IqU4AQAAIAAJ&q=%22ralph+a+foote%22+vermont The Vermont Bar Journal], Volume 28, 2003, page 54

Personal life

He was married for more than 50 years to Nancy Dickey Foote. They had five sons—Brian, Peter, Cory, Richard, and Anthony.Vermont General Assembly, [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2004/acts/ACTR249.HTM House Concurrent Resolution 249], 2004

Death

He died in Middlebury on July 16, 2003. He was cremated, and his remains were interred at Evergreen Cemetery in West Cornwall, Vermont.Sanderson Funeral Service, [http://www.sandersonfuneralservice.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2521848&fh_id=10485 Obituary, Nancy D. Foote], May 10, 2014 His wife Nancy died on May 10, 2014.

References

{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont|years=1960, 1962}}

{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Governor of Vermont|years=1964}}

Category:1923 births

Category:2003 deaths

Category:Lieutenant governors of Vermont

Category:Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives

Category:Military personnel from Vermont

Category:Politicians from Middlebury, Vermont

Category:Amherst College alumni

Category:Albany Law School alumni

Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II

Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War

Category:United States Marines

Category:Vermont lawyers

Category:State's attorneys in Vermont

Category:20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

Category:20th-century American lawyers