Obituary of William Arthur Foley, Jr.

William A. Foley Jr., age 93 of Dallas, Texas passed away on April 18th, 2020 peacefully surrounded by his family.” A Celebration of Bill’s life took place in his honor on June 23rd, 2020 at a private gathering at The Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery. Bill was born in Edgewater, NJ on August 8th, 1926. He served in WWII from 1944-1946 as an Infantry Rifleman in Patton’s Third Army in Europe. After the war, Bill completed his education with honors at The Newark of Fine and Industrial Arts and continued on to work full time as an artist where he specialized in oil paintings and murals. Bill’s artwork and commissions allowed him the opportunity to travel the world where his work can be seen from Mexico to London and Italy and back to The USA. One of Bill’s most recognized masterpieces can be seen in The Boston State House where he was commissioned to complete a 10X16 ft mural of George Patton and his troops during WWII in Germany on behalf of the 94th Division and the State of Massachusetts. Bill was also known as an author and wrote Visions From a Foxhole; A Rifleman in Patton’s Ghost Corps, after finding his 50-year-old sketches that he had completed as a soldier while in battle as an 18-year-old. The sketches became his inspiration to write about his experiences along with his comrades of the war during the times he served as a soldier and platoon leader. Bill’s book reached thousands of people across the world who needed closure and understanding on what their families went through and gave Bill the opportunity to speak at many venues; including Brookdale College in NJ, The National Guard Museum, NJ, The Library of Congress, The Pritzker Military Library in Chicago, The Flight Museum in Dallas Texas and the Vernon Museum in Vernon, Texas. Bill was married to Nadia Foley on December 27th, 1993 and they were happily married for 27 years. Together they were an amazing pair and helped to pave the way for the art industry and lived quietly in their home in Dallas. Bill was kind, always there for his family and he had the best laugh, and intellectual beyond words who loved to talk about life and The Dallas Cowboys. He will forever be known as part of “The Greatest Generation,” as his family continues to share his amazing stories and spread the love and light that he emanated. Bill is survived by his loving wife Nadia, children and their spouses; Bill and Sabrina Foley and Irene and Michael Zitzner, and grandchildren, Madison, Luke and Elle Zitzner, and wonderful long time friends Hank and Valerie Nowak. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Irene Foley, and sister, Pearl Russo.