Adrian "bud" Foley, Former NJSGA President, Passes Away
Former NJSGA president Adrian M. 'Bud' Foley Jr., one of New Jersey's leading lawyers for six decades, passed away on Feb. 9, 2015, three weeks after his 93rd birthday.
Foley was a prominent attorney in state legal and political circles, was a gubernatorial appointee who led the New Jersey Constitutional Convention and oversaw early financing for Giants Stadium,
Foley influenced the revision of NJSGA by-laws to remove any reference to public or private facilities within the membership of the NJSGA. In addition, Bud was active at the state and national level as a member of the USGA Regional Affairs Committee.
“Bud was a major contributor in building the foundation on which the NJSGA stands today .His contributions to our Association both in time and treasure were enormous,” said Frank O’Brien, NJSGA president.
Foley served as legal counsel for the NJSGA since the 1980s. He was a member of the Essex Fells Country Club since 1959 and served on the board of trustees for six years. His personal mission was to encourage juniors and children to participate in golf at the club, at which he was highly successful.
Foley (NJSGA president 1986-87) was co-recipient of the 2013 NJSGA/NJPGA Distinguished Service Award along with Robert “Bob” Cronheim (president, 1992-93) at the Celebration of Golf.
Together, Foley and Cronheim became the impetus behind the creation of NJSGA headquarters at Galloping Hill Golf Course, a project that began nearly two decades ago.
“Bud provided a major thrust and laid the foundation to what we see today as our beautiful office accommodation at the Galloping Hill Golf Course,” O’Brien added.
Foley was a quiet dynamo behind the scenes and out of the limelight, but actively growing the game and the NJSGA over the years. He was a lifetime sustaining members as one of the most generous donors in the history of the NJSGA Caddie Scholarship Foundation.
In 2013, Foley paid a visit to the new headquarters at Galloping Hill, viewing the reality of his vision of a fitting home for the NJSGA.
Foley, a former New Jersey State Bar Association president, was a partner in Connell Foley LLP in Roseland. He was long active in the American Bar Association where he served on the Board of Governors and in the House of Delegates. He was the first New Jersey attorney to serve as chair of the ABA’s largest entity, the Section on Litigation.
In 2004, he received the Daniel J. O’Hern Award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law. The award recognizes commitment to professionalism, career achievement, and service to the profession and community.
Writing in a New York Times article, Richard Reeves called Adrian Foley one of the 15 most powerful men in New Jersey, "-- one who generally turns up on one side or the other in all major legal disputes affecting New Jersey." A New Jersey Monthly article called him --"probably the most powerful lawyer in New Jersey.”
He was appointed by Gov. William Cahill as the first treasurer and chief financial officer of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and was reappointed to that post by Gov. Brendan Byrne. Foley was instrumental in devising the bond issue that generated funding for Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Active in all facets of the Bar, he was the youngest president of the New Jersey Bar Association and the youngest elected surrogate in the State of New Jersey.
The graduate of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark and Seton Hall University was a decorated veteran of World War II. He was a B-24 navigator in the United States Army Air Corps who flew missions over the Mediterranean, Baltic and European theaters. He was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters, and five battle stars.
Relatives and friends are invited for visiting hours on Friday, Feb. 13, at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 28 Livingston Ave., Roseland, N.J., from 3 to 9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. in the church with entombment to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
