Kenneth R. Foulks, 76, of Keyport, formerly of Middletown, passed away June 18, 2021, at Riverview Medical Center due to COVID-19 related complications.
He was born July 30, 1944, in Long Branch to his loving parents Harold and Marion (Helwig) Foulks. The second of three sons, he grew up in the Belford section of Middletown Township surrounded by the large Foulks and Helwig families. He excelled at sports and was a varsity athlete on the Middletown Lions baseball, basketball and football teams. He was also the 1963 Middletown High School class president.
However, it was on the baseball diamond that he excelled the most and earned All-State, All-Shore and All-County honors as a pitcher. Along with teammate Ken Bullivant, they formed one of the best pitching tandems in Shore Conference history. Upon graduation, he was drafted by 10 major league baseball teams and was inducted into the Middletown North Lions Hall of Fame in 1994, joining his father Bud Foulks and uncle Doug Foulks. After graduation he went to the Pennsylvania Military College in Chester, Pennsylvania, on a baseball scholarship and started as a freshman on the varsity football team as a running back.
Leaving college early, he married Judith A. Toynbee of Port Monmouth May 1, 1965. They had known each other since they were teenagers at the Belford United Methodist Church and would enjoy 39 years together living in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. Soon thereafter he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on active duty as a Special Forces team medic and airborne rigger from 1965-68 and then in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Team Medic with the 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the early 1970s.
After leaving active service, he joined the Metropolitan Police department in Washington, DC as a patrolman. In 1969, he took a position with the newly formed Brookdale Community College police department and retired in 1992 as captain of the department. He then went to work for Canon, USA in Jamesburg as director of security and worked there until he finally retired in 2003.
During his lifetime, he was a lifelong member of the Belford United Methodist Church, Monmouth Lodge #172 (Free & Accepted Masons), the American Legion, the Policemen’s Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. He coached little league baseball for MYAA baseball, an organization his father helped established and was a former Monmouth County Park commissioner.
He was predeceased by his parents, Harold and Marion, his older brother Harold H. Foulks Jr., and his beloved wife Judy Foulks in 2005.
He is survived by his son, COL (Ret.) Kenneth R. Foulks Jr. and his wife Mary-Elizabeth Foulks of Bel Air, Maryland; and daughters Karrie E. Foulks of Keyport; and Kortney Burke and her husband Dr. Richard Burke of Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, he is survived by his grandchildren, Matthew G. Foulks, Kenneth R. Foulks III and his wife Liz Foulks, Michael R. Foulks, Jackson T. Burke, and Ava Judianna D’Arc. He is also survived by his brother, Gary P. Foulks Sr. and his wife Shirley Foulks of Middletown.
His impact upon his family was profound, and the loss has created a void in all their lives. A private committal service will be held for family members on a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the USO at uso.org or the Military Working Dog Team Support Association (MTDTSA) at mwdtsa.org.
The article originally appeared in the July 1 – 7, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
