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Biographical Sketch Norman Landon Foote was born on November 30, 1915, at Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of Leroy Herman Foote, a noted dental surgeon in Saratoga Springs, and Amy Verina (Close) Foote. Foote attended the Saratoga Public Schools and graduated from Saratoga High School in 1933. After graduating from high school Foote attended Hamilton College, located at Hamilton, New York, for one year (1933-1934). In the autumn of 1934 he transferred to Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, where he pursued studies in History. In 1937 he graduated from Princeton with an A.B. in History. Following graduation from Princeton, Foote studied for the ministry at the General Theological Seminary, New York City, New York, and received a bachelor of sacred theology degree (S.T.B.) in 1940. Subsequently, Foote was awarded two honorary degrees; a doctor of sacred theology (S.T.D.) from General Theological Seminary in 1957, and a doctor of divinity (D.D) from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkley, California, in the same year. On June 1, 1940, Foote married Carolyn Hope Swayne, a native of Newton, Pennsylvania, at a ceremony conducted at Princeton, New Jersey. From this union four children were born: Margaret Elizabeth, Judith Robin, Leroy Francis, and Ralph Norman. Ordained as a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Albany, New York, in May 1940, Foote was assigned to the Episcopal Missionary district in Montana. In December 1940, he was ordained as a priest at Bozeman, Montana. From 1940 to 1943, Reverend Foote served as a missionary priest at Virginia City, Montana. In 1943 he was named Archdeacon for Episcopal church in Montana and remained in that post until 1950. During his ministry in the rural areas of Montana, Foote became interested in the uniqueness of the rural ministry. In 1950 he accepted a call to serve as director of Roanridge, a post graduate training center for Episcopal seminarians called to the rural ministry. Located at Parkville, Missouri, Roanridge--also known as the National Town and Country Church Institute-- was to remain as Foote’s home until 1957. In 1956, Reverend Foote was named by the Episcopal House of Bishops as the sixth, and last, Bishop of the Missionary District of Idaho. On February 14, 1957, Norman Foote was consecrated as a Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in a solemn ceremony conducted at Saint Michael’s Cathedral, in Boise, Idaho. In 1967 the Missionary District of Idaho was elevated to the status of a diocese and Bishop Foote became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho. During Bishop Foote’s tenure the Diocese of Idaho gained strength in church membership and became well known as the “testing ground” of innovations for the Episcopal Church in the United States. Some of the programs established during Bishop Foote’s years as head of the Episcopal Church in Idaho were: Ecumenicalism, Pastoral Care, Metropolitan Planning, and The Idaho Project – an experimental program for self supporting ministries. On February 14, 1972, after 15 years service as Bishop of Idaho, Bishop Foote retired due to ill health and moved to McCall, Idaho. Active even in retirement, Bishop Foote continued to serve the Episcopal Church in Idaho in various capacities. On May 12, 1974, Bishop Norman Landon Foote died at the age of 59, from complications of emphysema, in a hospital at Cascade, Idaho. Scope and Content Note
The Foote papers were donated to Boise State University Library by Judith Foote Wright, Bishop Foote’s daughter, on May 16, 1984. She gained access and ownership of the papers on the death of her mother, Mrs. Carolyn Foote. Mr. Don P. Haacke of the Special Collections department of the Boise State Library did initial arranging and prepared a preliminary inventory soon after the collection’s arrival at Boise State. Processing, arranging, reboxing, refoldering and the preparation of a finding aid were completed in 1992. During the processing in 1992, one item was removed from the collection: a bound copy of a program file for the Paradise Point (McCall, Idaho) Episcopal Conference Center covering the years 1957-1969. This file marked “Diocesan Permanent File Copy” was returned to the archives of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho (Paradise Point series) also located at Boise State University. The Bishop Norman L. Foote collection is open to researchers by appointment. Researchers are advised that related materials are also located in two additional collections maintained at Boise State University. These collections are: the Archives of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho (MSS 091) and the manuscript collection of Mrs. Carolyn Foote (MSS 054). For more information, contact the Special Collections Department in the Boise State University Library. Container Lists and Series Descriptions Summary of the Series
I. Biographical material and Personal Papers IV. Personal educational materials Series I: Biographical Materials and Personal Papers
Box 1: Biographical Materials and Personal PapersFolder 1 Certificates and
Honors: 1943-1966 Series II: Sermons and Writings
Box 1: Sermons and Writings Folder 8 Communion services, 1941-1953 Box 2: Sermons and Writings Folder 1 Writings: general,
1957-1972 Series III: Episcopal Church Papers
Box 2: Episcopal Church Papers Folder 2 Sermons by Theodore P. Ferris (offprints),
1970-1972 Folder 1 Conference on Metropolitan Planning,
1964
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