To: JUlie Crosswell (deceased)
Subject: George Foss
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002
Dear Julia,
I wanted to let you know that my father, George Foss, passed away suddenly on July 20, after a short illness. During the last two years of Dad's life, he was able to do many things that he had been dreaming of all his life, including travelling to Africa, and seeing the Kansas wheat harvest from an airplane. Another long cherished dream of his was that his book, From White Hall To Bacon Hollow, would somehow reach an audience, after having been rejected by a number of publishers. I just wanted to let you know how proud he was of the book being published on the Shiflett family website, and how very happy he was while working on that project. It was a wonderful introduction to the Internet for him (a confirmed technophobe), and led to him enjoying many hours on the computer, as he learned to web surf and send emails. It is particular comfort to me to see his work on the site. He was a unique individual, and when they made him, they broke the mold. As my stepmother, Nancy, said to me when she called me with the news, "he had a great life, he was larger than life in so many ways". Again, thank you for your work on the Shiflett site, and for persevering in getting Dad's book so beautifully presented in its online home.
All the best,
Tove Ford
George Foss Obituary
George Dueward Foss, 70, passed from this life on Sunday, July 21 at 8:30 a.m. at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock after a brief illness.
Born on July 19, 1932, in Miami, Florida, he was the son of George Dueward Foss, Sr. and Louise Graves Foss. George attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York; attended and graduated from The Juilliard School of Music in New York City; attended the Mannes School of Music, New York City and he completed a graduate degree at America University, also in New York City. In 1955, he joined the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C., as a trumpeter. During his tenure with the National Symphony, he began the first of many field trips into the nearby Blue Ridge region of Virginia collecting the ballads, folk songs, and instrumental pieces of the settlers there. Later he expanded his collecting of traditional folk music to the Cumberlands of Kentucky, the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and the Arkansas Ozarks. In 1964, Foss joined the faculty of Louisiana State University teaching trumpet, music theory, music history and appreciation as well as folk music. He continued his collecting, aided by grants from the American Philosophical Society and Louisiana State University. His collections have been duplicated and archived in the Library of Congress Folklore Archive, Washington, D.C., the University of Texas, Austin, Texas and the LSU Archive of Oral History, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Foss co-authored a textbook, ANGLO-AMERICAN FOLKSONG STYLE with Roger Abrahams and was music editor of A SINGER AND HER SONGS based on the life of Almeda Riddle, the noted Ozark ballad singer. He has also written many articles and short works on American folk music and folk instruments such as the autoharp and the Native-American flute. He retired from his professorship at LSU in 1989 and moved, with his wife, Nancy, to Greer's Ferry.
George is survived by his wife, Nancy Glaspie Foss; one daughter, Tove Ford and her husband, Brian; two sons, Jason Foss and his wife, Maria and Forrest Saxon and his wife Sonya and three grandchildren, Christina Foss, Ashley Saxon and Hannah Saxon and his beloved pets, Shaka and Felix.
A memorial celebration of George's life will be held at his home, Critter Crag at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 26. This will be a time for friends to share their fondest memories of his life. Memorial contributions can be made to the Heber Springs Humane Society.
This page is part of the Shiflet Family Genealogy Website and is maintained by:
Julia Crosswell / Fort Worth, TX /
Bob Klein / Pasadena, MD /