Matthew Foley

Dr. Matthew P. Foley, PhD (Matt) passed away unexpectedly on August 13, 2020 at 51 years young. He was a brilliant and uncommonly kind and friendly man who was a true gift to the world, trying every day to make it a better place.

Matt graduated from E.J. Wilson High School, Spencerport, NY in 1986 and from SUNY Brockport with a BS in Chemistry in 2004. He worked for several years at Eastman Kodak, and then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University at Bloomington in 2009. He was an Assistant Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy from 2009 to 2013 and then transitioned to the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island where he taught Chemistry for the last 6 years.
Matt cared deeply about science, education and the welfare of others. He garnered the upmost respect and admiration from his professional colleagues. While Matt was very educated and intelligent, he never looked down on others or thought of himself as more important. Matt treated everyone he met with a level of kindness and respect that immediately endeared him to others. Everywhere he went he strived to make people happy and comfortable with themselves. Matt would smile and greet people with a cheery "Hello neighbor!". Expressions of sympathy have been pouring in from many different people who knew him at various stages of his life. There is nothing that can replace Matt, but you can smile and say "Hello neighbor!" to others and brighten their day in his memory.
Matt is predeceased by his mother, Helen, and is survived by his father, Frank, and step-mother Mary Brady Foley. He is also survived by his brothers Jim, Dan, Stephen, Sean and his sister Eileen Ross, as well as sister-in-laws Hiromi Foley, Ann Marie Zavacki, Gina Foley and brother-in-law David Ross. He was the beloved uncle of Harley and Coleman Barletta, Hunter and Lillian Ross, and Yuki, Sayaka, Andrew, Adam, Emma, Peter, Kelly and Lucy Foley. He is also survived by his cherished cat, Page, who has found another loving home. Donations in Matt's memory can be made to Potter League for Animals, https://www.potterleague.org/
There will be a private Mass for the family on September 4, 2020 at 1:00 at St. Raphael's Church in Medford, MA which can be viewed online at: https://www.youtube.com/c/SaintRaphaelParishMedford/ live or at a later time. Matt's final resting place will be at St. John's Cemetery in Spencerport, New York. A celebration of Matt's life and burial will be held at a later time when it is safe after the COVID-19 pandemic.