Vivian Foe was born in 1936 and grew up in Smiths Grove, Ky. She attended North Warren school and had perfect attendance for 11 of her 12 years. After working in the private sector for a year, she returned to her first love of teaching and enrolled at Western Kentucky State College, now known as WKU.
Foe left home to teach in San Diego, California after earning her degree in 1959. “I wanted to go somewhere I had never been,” she said. This would be a recurring theme throughout her life.
She moved back to Kentucky to marry fellow teacher John Foe in August 1960. They have three daughters: Brookie Henry of Bowling Green, Marcia Wozniak of Victoria, Texas, and Lori Hughes of Frankfort, and three grandchildren: Ashton Henry, John Cole Wozniak, and Anne-Grayson Wozniak. One daughter and two grandchildren have carried on the family tradition and become teachers. A substitute teacher for several years, Foe returned to teaching full-time when their daughters were in junior high. She was at L.C. Curry when she was invited to join the Community Education Advisory Council.
Foe has served as chair of the Advisory Council and the Board of Directors, and has worked at nearly all of the 24 Stand for Children Days. She is particularly proud of the current facility on Westen Street that houses the organization. “We were able to purchase the property and remodel the existing building,” which was quite an accomplishment for a non-profit.
“The before and after-school programs provide safe places for children. That is very important,” she says, also mentioning the value of the Enrichment program. “I have enjoyed working with the staff at Community Education.”
A map in the Foe house has pins placed in all 50 states, and in the many countries the couple visited while teaching Vacation Bible School. There are 139 nativity scenes and 300 dolls from around the world. Each year the house is decorated with 18 Christmas trees, and it has been the location for the Community Education holiday potluck for many years. The couple once hosted an exchange teacher from Austria, where Foe returned later to teach.
In retirement, the Foes were active in AARP, Warren County Retired Teachers Association, and Woodmen Life. Foe has also been involved with the Bowling Green Women’s Club, Alpha Delta Kappa sorority, the Ombudsman program, the Emmanuel Day Care board, and First Baptist Church. The Foes were married 57 years when John Foe died in 2017.
“I have seen many changes over the years to the schools and to Community Education,” Foe says with pride, knowing that she played an important role in the lives of many school-age children and their families.