Phillip Gene “Phil” Foote—an American educator whose decades-long commitment to Greece helped shape English-language learning at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki and later brought U.S. students to Greek villages—died peacefully on Friday, January 30, 2026, according to a family notice published in The New York Times.
Foote, 90, was born May 2, 1935, in Port Arthur, Texas, and earned a B.A. in Education from the University of Texas in 1957. After theological studies at the University of Chicago, he joined World Council of Churches refugee-relief work in Salzburg, Austria—an experience that set the course for his life in Greece.
In 1961, Foote received a Fulbright teaching scholarship and moved to Thessaloniki to teach English at the American Farm School, where he became head of the English department and developed published materials for teaching English as a second language. He returned to Thessaloniki with his wife, Mary Alice Swift Foote, and over time became a leading lay steward of the institution, later serving as head of its Board of Trustees and helping coordinate “Greek Summer,” a program that brings American students to work at the school and in Greek villages. The American Farm School continues to list Phillip G. Foote among its honorary trustees.
Back in the United States, Foote built a reputation as a steady, student-centered leader in independent education. He was named head of school at Greenhill School in Dallas in 1976 and led the campus until 1992; during his tenure, he accepted the Excellence in Private Education Award from President Ronald Reagan on the school’s behalf. He moved to New York City in 1992 to lead Horace Mann School, the Bronx institution’s history notes. He later headed the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine, serving from 1996 to 2003, according to the school’s official history.
Foote remained active in church life in Manhattan; St. Bartholomew’s Church said he regularly served as an intercessor at the 9 a.m. Sunday service, and a memorial service is scheduled there on March 12 at 3 p.m.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary; three children—David, Andrew, and Amy—and six grandchildren, according to the family notice.
