Eric J. Foell, 72, of Gloucester, passed away suddenly Thursday, April 6, 2017.
He leaves behind his wife of 36 years, Mary Ann Fisher Foell; his daughter, Christina Foell of Cleveland, Ohio; his son, Bryan Foell of Warsaw, New York; his stepson, Michael Vaden, of Huntington, West Virginia; his cousin, Linda Croce in California.
Eric’s family immigrated from Wiesbaden, Germany, when he was eight years old. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended St. Ignatius Catholic High School; Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; and John Carroll University in Cleveland for his Master’s Degree in Biology.
Eric joined the Peace Corps after college and lived in Malaysia for two years teaching biology and chemistry. He came to Virginia Institute of Marine Science to study for his PhD in 1975.
Eric and Mary Ann met when they were both working for Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in Gloucester Point, and have been residents of Gloucester since 1981. After VIMS, Eric went to work for Deepsea Ventures as a marine scientist. Following this, he began working as an independent consultant.
Most recently, Eric was a tax consultant with H&R Block in Gloucester. Eric was a member of the Board of Zoning and Appeals, and worked as a voter registrar for many years. He was a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration since the year 2000, was involved for 30 years and for the past several served on the Board of Directors of the Offshore Technology Conference out of Houston, Texas. For the past 10 years, Eric was a member of, and judge for, the International Underwater Submarine Races in Bethesda, Maryland.
True to his German heritage, Eric liked to brew beer, grow shiitake mushrooms, forage for wild edible mushrooms, and of course, loved to eat. Eric enjoyed traveling and did so as often as the benevolent associations he was involved with required.
Eric was preceded in death by his parents, Eleanor Wissing Foell and Henry Foell. Eric will be sorely missed by his very large family and numerous friends.
There was a funeral service and reception Wednesday, April 19, at 11 a.m. at St. Therese Catholic Church, 6262 Main Street, Gloucester. The Rev. Mr. Jose Melendez and the Rev. Mr. Miguel Melendez conducted.
The family desires if well-wishers would prefer, a donation to a favorite charity in Eric’s name would be appreciated.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Hogg Funeral Home and Crematory, Gloucester Point. Please visit www.hoggfh.com to share condolences and memories with the family.