Obituary
Vincent Foote

Vincent Millard Foote, born on December 17th, 1933, died as a result of a stroke on Friday, April, 25th, 2025. He was surrounded by his family in his final days. He is survived by his children, Teresa Bailey and her husband Wayne; Jeanette Foote and her husband Jesse Baskir; Monica Foote; Zane and Zoe Foote and their mother Carol Finley; five grandchildren, Vince Bailey, Jeb Bailey (Nicole), Alex Bailey (Meri Ashlen), Robby Bailey (Amanda), and Zeke Bailey (Shelby Robertson); and six great-grandchildren (Coralie, Rhett, Colter, John, Tucker, and Tessa). He was predeceased by his daughter, Deborah Foote, his parents, his first wife, Helen, and his siblings.

Vince (Dad, Pepa, Foote, Horse, Footsie, Mr. Vince) was a beloved father, professor, and neighbor who led a life full of stories that we never tired of hearing. He achieved, accomplished, and conquered so much in his 91 years. He grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a sister and two brothers. He began working at age eight, delivering ice with his uncle, and since then, he largely defined his life by his work. He sold shoes, worked as a steeplejack, and caddied all before finishing high school and enlisting in the US Army to fight in the Korean War. He attended the University of Cincinnati on the GI Bill and majored in Visual and Product Design with a year-long co-op and was a proud member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He had lifelong friends from his Cincinnati neighborhood, Purcell High School, his UC program, and Sigma Chi. He married and had his first children during college, then moved with them to western North Carolina to work as an industrial designer. This move, like most things Vince, had many accompanying stories that included a major detour, bears, moonshine, small aircraft, a glass house, chain-smoking, Chicago shenanigans, and a beauty pageant. The office moved to Raleigh, NC, where the Footes’ first house sported a larger-than-life Batman in the front yard. Batman later became a raft in the Neuse River Derby. Around this time, the famed School of Design at NC State University asked Vince to teach one course as an adjunct, 40+ years later, he retired as a Distinguished Alumni Professor, Fellow in the Industrial Designers Society of America, and having won NCSU’s Holliday Medal and the University of North Carolina O. Max Gardner Award. His full academic bio can be read here. Hundreds of School (College) of Design alumni have kept in touch with Vince through Facebook, visits, and cards, and he treasured each of these interactions.

Sometime in the late 1970s, Vince accepted a suggestion that drinking a gin and tonic and then running a mile would give a great buzz. He did it and loved running so much that he set the gin aside and became a nationally ranked long-distance runner. He ran numerous marathons, including Boston and New York, and three 100-mile ultramarathons. His favorite distance was 50 miles, and his favorite course was the Marine Corps 50 in Washington DC. He formed life-long friendships running daily with the NCSU Road Scholars from their home base, Carmichael Gymnasium, and later formed even more friendships, earning a black belt in Taekwondo. In his 60s, Vince welcomed two more children to his family. Debi, Teri, Jeni, Moni, Zoe, and Zane brought so much joy to his life, and he was their rock. Throughout his life of work and running, his children remained his thread. “Mr. Vince” spent hours walking in the Forest Park Neighborhood in retirement. He served his neighbors by pulling in their trash cans, collecting mail during their vacations, and tossing their newspapers onto their porches in the wee hours of the dawn up until his stroke. He was steadfast in this. He was also steadfast in his core belief: Everyone is uniquely capable of self-excellence and should pursue it throughout their lives. We are sure he is wishing his family, friends, and neighbors “NAMASTE,” his favorite all-caps salutation.

Vince, ever the educator, donated his body to the UNC School of Medicine for study. The family plans a group run/walk soon to honor Vince. In the meantime, they invite you to think of Vince on your next run or visit to the PR; to register for that race you’ve been thinking about; to pull in your neighbors’ trash bins for them or toss their newspaper a little closer; or to make a gift in his honor:

Catholic Charities Raleigh
https://www.catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/donate/
To make a gift in honor or in memory of an individual, please make the donation using this online portal, then contact Gabby Amos with the honor or memorial information. Gabby.Amos@ccharitiesdor.org or (984) 900-3117.

NCSU K-12 Design Lab Fund
https://design.ncsu.edu/designlab/give/
Designate your gift to honor Vince after the payment page.

Finally, the family wishes to thank the Forest Park neighbors who nurtured us so lovingly over the last 13 days.