Don and Jane Foy sit in the backyard of their Cookeville home. Photo by Lauren Clark
Tennessee Tech alumni Don and Jane Foy met in the Roaden University Center in the summer of 1983.
Jane, whose maiden name is Mabry, was a senior English major working in the Information Center of the RUC for her scholarship and Don, a junior, also spent his days in the RUC being a DJ for Tech’s radio station, WTTU-FM.
“He would come in and go up to his little radio station and I was always like, ‘Oh he’s kinda cute,’” Jane said.
A mutual friend eventually introduced them and they married two years later. After 35 years, they are still together and have two daughters. Currently, Don works as news editor at the Herald Citizen and Jane is a special education teacher at Sycamore Elementary School.
Don said he originally went to Tech for a degree in engineering but switched to communication and began covering sports for WTTU-FM and The Oracle.
“I passed all the engineering calculus and differential equations classes. But physics got me,” he said.
The couple recalled the day they found out Elvis Presley died, right after he agreed to perform on campus.
“We were this close to having Elvis and he went and died!” Jane said.
“Elvis died to keep from having to come to Tech,” Don said.
The two reminisced about their time at Tech.
“I loved rainy days in Henderson Hall, going to my class on Edgar Allan Poe. Meeting him was a highlight too,” Jane said, gesturing to her husband.
Don recalled when Tech’s football team defeated MTSU in 1984, keeping the Blue Raiders from continuing to playoffs.
“Now that was fun,” he said.
The couple described their favorite memories from Tech.
“I went to homecoming and I had my little corsage and he sat up in the booth and I sat with some friends. I couldn’t sit with him at the game because he had to cover it,” Jane recalled. “Taking walks around the quad, meeting him, those were my highlights.”
Don and Jane Foy holding their diplomas from Tennessee Tech University. Photo by Lauren Clark
Don and Jane Foy wearing their wedding rings after 35 years of marriage. Photo by Lauren Clark
Jane looks at a newspaper article released shortly after her engagement to Don. Photo by Lauren Clark
