Theodore Foot

Falmouth, Maine -Theodore (Ted) Foot died peacefully at age 90 on November 14, 2025, with his three children nearby.  He had been suffering from aggressive prostate cancer.  
Born on May 9, 1935, Ted was the eldest of three boys born to Harry and Helen Foot, a Presbyterian minister and a schoolteacher.  Following his parents, Ted was a Religion major at Princeton, and then went into education, earning his Doctorate in Education from Harvard.  He spent nearly 40 years as a superintendent of schools, serving suburban school districts from the East Coast to the Midwest (Radnor, PA; Minnetonka, MN; Wilton, CT; Burnsville, MN; Niskayuna, NY; Tredyffrin/Easttown, PA).  He truly believed in the importance of promoting education and helping districts improve.  In that vein, he was also honored to serve as an alumni Trustee for Princeton, and on various other education-focused boards and associations.  In addition to education, Ted loved the water and sailing.  He met Betsy Peck when they were both counselors at a summer sailing camp in Orleans, MA during college.  They were married in 1959 and had three children.  Betsy died from breast cancer in 1976, at age 39, leaving Ted to raise three young children.  
Ted was married to Sally Prescott from 1978 to 1982, which ended in divorce.
In 1984, Ted married Patrica Duffy, who had also been widowed, bringing five adult children into the mix.  Ted lost Pat in 2024 after 40 years of marriage and years of loving care; Pat was 94.
Ted’s love of sailing was a lifelong passion, having learned to sail from his mother on Eggemoggin Reach in Maine.  He was proud to say that he got to his cherished Eggemoggin every year of his life, even the many years he lived in Minnesota.  He was co-captain of the Princeton Sailing team, and he posted an impressive career racing at Buck’s Harbor YC, where he also installed a strong junior sailing program, ran the Race Committee for many years, and served as Commodore at a time of important club growth.  In retirement, he spent many happy hours sailing and cruising on Tigress, his Bristol 35.
Ted and Pat retired to Orleans, Cape Cod in 2000, building a home that hosted many family gatherings and numerous black and yellow labs, a fixture in their lives for decades. Ted was active in Brewster Baptist Church, the Daytrippers, the Cape Cod Ski Club, the Orleans YC, and other community activities, including counting herring and advocating for improved water supply.  He was also an avid woodworker, doing various home improvement projects and building model boats for pleasure and sale at church fairs.
Ted is survived by his three children, Jonathan Foot, Elizabeth Murphy, and Nancy Waddell, and their spouses; his younger brother Bob Foot (his brother David died in 1979); four step-children, Peter Duffy, Sue Eriksen, Mark Duffy, and Scott Duffy and spouses; 15 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren; his sister-in-law, Karen Foot, who was David’s wife; his brother-in-law, Chris Peck; and various nieces and nephews.  A celebration of life is planned for March 14 at Brewster Baptist Church (Brewster, MA).