Ralph Albert Foote (January 22, 1923 – July 16, 2003) was an American attorney who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1961 to 1965, and a prominent

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

practicing in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History One of ...

Early life

Foote was born in Proctor, Vermont, on January 22, 1923. He was the grandson of Lieutenant Governor Abram W. Foote. Foote graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1943 and served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, including combat at the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. He graduated from Albany Law School in 1949 and became an attorney in Middlebury. He returned to active duty with the Marines during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Career

A Republican, Foote served as Deputy

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

Addison County Addison County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,363. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of Middlebury (town), Vermont, Middle ...

and interim state's attorney. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican state's attorney nomination in 1950. Foote ran successfully for the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

in 1956 and served two terms, also serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1960, he served under Republican

F. Ray Keyser Jr. Frank Ray Keyser Jr. (August 17, 1927 – March 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. He served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961, and the 72nd governor of Vermont from 1961 to 1963. Bi ...

When Keyser lost the governorship to

Philip H. Hoff Philip Henderson Hoff (June 29, 1924 – April 26, 2018) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. He was most notable for his service as the List of Governors of Vermont, 73rd governor of Vermont from 1963 to 1969, the state's ...

in 1962, Foote won re-election. In 1964 Foote challenged Hoff, but lost badly in what turned into a

wave election Wave elections in the United States are elections in which a political party makes major gains. Based on the "red states and blue states" color coding convention since 2000, wave elections have often been described as either a "blue wave" if the De ...

for Democrats nationwide. Foote spent the rest of his career at the law firm of Conley and Foote in Middlebury. He also served as president of the Addison County and Vermont Bar Associations, was chairman of the Vermont Judicial Conduct Board, and chaired the Middlebury and Addison County Republican Committees.

Personal life

He was married for more than 50 years to Nancy Dickey Foote. They had five sons—Brian, Peter, Cory, Richard, and Anthony.

Death

He died in Middlebury on July 16, 2003. He was cremated, and his remains were interred at Evergreen Cemetery in West Cornwall, Vermont.Sanderson Funeral Service
Obituary, Nancy D. Foote
May 10, 2014 His wife Nancy died on May 10, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Ralph 1923 births 2003 deaths Lieutenant governors of Vermont Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Military personnel from Vermont People from Middlebury, Vermont Amherst College alumni Albany Law School alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marines Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Burials in Vermont 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers