An important chapter in the history of the Alabama Republican Party has closed.
Martha Foy of Dothan and her late husband, Dr. Robert E. Foy, Jr., were among the early builders of the modern Republican Party in Alabama. Dr. Foy died in 2004. His wife, Martha, 93, joined him on January 28.
Mrs. Foy’s service to the Republican cause was so difference-making that a significant award was named in her honor – The Martha Foy Award. It goes biennially to the Alabama Republican woman who did the most for the party. Tellingly, her daughter-in-law, Robin Foy of Enterprise, won the award two years ago. Martha Foy’s legacy lives on.
Martha Foy and the Republicans helped carry Alabama for Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, sweeping in five GOP Congressmen for the first time. Martha Foy was tickled to tell folks that she was “the oldest of the Goldwater Girls.”
Martha Foy and the Republicans helped elect Republican Senator Jeremiah Denton in 1980. “From the Hanoi Hilton to the U.S. capitol.”
She and the Republicans helped elect Republican Gov. Guy Hunt in 1986, the first GOP governor since Reconstruction.
She and the Republicans helped elect Republican Gov. Fob James in 1994, carrying in several other GOP candidates.
She and the Republicans helped oust the last Democrat governor Don Siegelman, electing Republican Bob Riley in 2002.
All of that work built a foundation for what is now perhaps the reddest of red states with all statewide officials and a super majority of both houses of the legislature as Republicans since 2010.
In 1989, the AFRW was presented with a National Federation of Republican Women award for “Most New Chapters Formed in a State.” Martha traveled from county to county across Alabama, forming new chapters as a volunteer.
Martha served on the Steering Committee of the Alabama Republican Party for 11 years. After moving back to Dothan in 1987, she devoted much time and attention to the Houston County Republican Executive Committee and the Houston County Republican Women.
In 1992, Martha was elected to serve as Alabama’s National Committeewoman to the Republican National Committee and served in that capacity until 1996, during which time she and other grassroots organizers helped return U.S. House majority control to the GOP for the first time in 40 years, “The Contract with America.”
Martha was a primary organizer of the 1996 Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Mobile, a three-day event sponsored by the RNC with attendees representing 13 states.
Martha attended every Republican National Convention from 1984 to 2004 as a delegate, alternate or guest. At the 1984 inauguration, the second for Reagan, she was delighted to be entertained by Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.
When Mrs. Martha Foy and her husband were doing early work in building the Republican Party, Barry Moore of Enterprise was just a kid. In her later years and at her death, Moore became her congressman and a leader of the conservative movement in Washington. That life span chronicles the differences made during and partly because of the foundation built by the likes of Martha Foy.
The active club, Republican Women of Coffee County (RWCC), was founded during the post-Goldwater years, the late 1960s. It was rechartered with the Alabama Federation of Republican Women (AFRW) by Martha Foy in 1971. She served as RWCC president from 1980-1983.
Martha Foy served as the AFRW state president from 1986-1990.
An excellent student, Martha Foy graduated from Dothan High School in 1949 and then attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia before transferring to the University of Alabama, completing a BA in education at age 20 in 1952.
Dothan was home to many cousins and families, and Martha thrived there in a period that encompassed the Great Depression and World War II. She loved the beach and spent much time at Grayton Beach in Walton County, Fla., where her parents had built a cottage in 1932. Love of that area would be a constant in her life in the decades to come, and she and Dr. Foy shared that love with subsequent generations of family and friends at “the Lazy Snail” on County Hwy 30A.
Martha had married Robert Edward Foy, Jr. of Dothan, on September 6, 1952, after he graduated from Virginia Military Institute, and the couple moved to Birmingham where Martha taught school while her husband attended medical school at what was then the Medical College of Alabama.
Dr. and Mrs. Foy moved to San Antonio, Texas, with their newly born daughter, Elizabeth, when Robert reported for active duty in the U.S. Army. Soon, the couple moved to Colorado, where Robert did his residency in radiology at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, and son Edward was born in 1959. The young couple both learned to snow ski, a sport that Martha and Robert enjoyed with children and grandchildren in the years ahead, skiing with friends and family members on trips to Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Europe and even Chile.
Martha was a supportive Army wife. In addition to Fitzsimmons, the couple was also stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga. and Ft. Bragg, N.C. It was at Ft. Benning that daughter Frances was born in 1961.
Returning to civilian life in 1963, the couple resided in Dothan briefly before moving to Birmingham, residing there from 1964-968. There, Martha was active as a third-grade Sunday School teacher at Canterbury Methodist Church, a cub scout den mother, plus the patient and understanding wife and mother who could even deal with the challenge of keeping ponies in the backyard on Dolly Ridge Road, from which they were known to escape from time to time.
Martha Foy moved to Enterprise in 1968, happily accompanying her husband on a journey that had started as the wife of a medical student, then Army officer, medical school faculty member, and finally, small-town doctor, as Dr. Robert E. Foy, Jr. assumed the role of radiologist at Gibson Hospital in Enterprise and also in Graceville, Fla.
Together with her husband, she was committed to raising her children in a small town that strongly emphasized individual responsibility and liberty, civic involvement, and patriotic pride—all values instilled in many of her generations. Her commitment to civic involvement led Martha Foy to participate with numerous organizations, including military and medical auxiliaries, but especially the Republican Party.
She is survived by sister Nancy Bell (John) of Atlanta, three children: Elizabeth Foy, Edward Foy (Robin), Frances Strickland (Shelly); eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and their children and a special family friend, Barbara Daniels.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 8, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Dothan with Dr. Taylor Rutland officiating. The family will receive friends from 11:45 until 12:45 p.m. that Saturday at the church prior to the service time.
The service will be live-streamed on YouTube here.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
