Robert Davidson Foltz

The family of Robert D. (Bob) Foltz is saddened to share news of Bob’s death Sunday night, May 11th, in Kensington, Maryland. Until the very end of his life, Bob maintained the subtle wit, kindness, and physical strength and grace his family and friends loved and admired. Born in Westchester County, New York, in 1953, and raised in Rutherford and West Milford, New Jersey, Bob lived, worked, and played for most of his life in Connecticut. Bob graduated from West Milford Township High School and St. Lawrence University before earning his MBA from the University of Connecticut. A longtime resident of Deep River, Connecticut, Bob was a Connecticut state employee for some 35 years, rising from OTB cashier to Director of Fiscal Services for the Department of Corrections. Bob took early retirement at age 57 and reveled in the freedom this gave him. An adventurous and skilled athlete, Bob spent decades windsurfing, hiking, backpacking, sea kayaking, running, biking, indoor rock climbing, and cross-country skiing. He enjoyed and led many group hikes with Appalachian Mountain Club, Connecticut Hiking Alliance, and Meshomasic Hiking Club. He was certified in Wilderness First Aid. Bob “bagged peaks” proudly near and far, completing all 115 Northeast 4,000 footers and many more around the country and beyond. Bob maintained trails for Connecticut Forest & Park Association and the nearby Canfield Preserve. He windsurfed in Connecticut, Oahu, the Columbia River Gorge, and off the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico. He paddled and rolled his sea kayak in the waters of New England, Florida, and North Carolina, always eager for waves to surf. He backpacked long stretches of the Appalachian Trail and joined many group trips in the American West as a hiker and backpacker. Bob adventured abroad as well in New Zealand, the French Maritime Alps, and the Caribbean with his dear friend Karen Cassidy. Bob is survived by his brother David Devlin-Foltz and sister-in-law Betsy Devlin-Foltz of Silver Spring, Maryland, half-sister Jean Gibson, sister-in-law Anne-Marie Foltz, and loving nephews, nieces, grandnephews, and grandnieces across the country. He will be dearly missed by family and by the many friends with whom he shared his adventures on water and land. Family members will organize a private celebration of life in Maryland and join a remembrance in Connecticut with Bob’s friends later this summer. In lieu of flowers, contributions are welcome to the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (https://ctwoodlands.org/) and the American Parkinson Disease Association (https://www.apdaparkinson.org/)

Robert Davidson Foltz

August 2, 1953 - May 11, 2025