Sherman Foote

Mr. Foote passed away on Thursday, June 11, 2026. He is now in the hands of his Lord in heaven and back with his beloved wife of 68 years and the rest of his family. Sherm was born at home in Milford, New Hampshire, 6 months after the start of the great depression to the late Harold Clesson and Mildred Merrill Foote who were wonderful parents. Jackie his wife predeceased him. He is also preceded in death by his sister Lucille and three children Jeffrey C. and Bradley C. and a daughter Deborah F. He was a Master Mason for over 70 years at Delta Lodge AF and AM and was a member of the Baptist and then the Presbyterian faith. He was a lifetime member of the National Association of Accountants. His Dad lost his business in 1931, and times were really hard till the late 30s and there was not much money. Sherm hated to be poor and became determined at an early age to be free of money worries. He got a paper route at 10 years old that evolved into three routes soon. He became an avid Boy Scout leader but to his chagrin he was one badge shy of an Eagle Scout. He did well in school and by good fortune met his eventual bride to be Jackie West at Milford High School on Halloween 1947 on the dance floor. Following High School graduation, he was admitted to the University of New Hampshire where he graduated in 1952 with a B.S. degree as an accountant. He soon married the love of his life Jackie West a week after graduating. He was drafted during the Korean War, was trained at Fort Dix and was one of 8 men out of over 600 that were chosen for further training at Fort Monmouth with top secret security clearance to be part of a testing system checking for atom and hydrogen bomb explosions around the world and stationed in Germany for two years. Two years later he returned and was assigned as a junior auditor at Haskins and Sells, a Public Accounting firm in Boston. He soon got a job with Armstrong Cork Company, now Armstrong World Industries, where he was assigned various accounting positions in the Controllers office starting at Armstrongs Brantree Plant where he was able to work night school for his master’s degree at Northeastern University in Boston. Five years later he returned to Lancaster where he was in several assignments in Industry Products then Defense Division Controller then as Plant Controller in Lancaster then to International Operations where he was for about 26 years. During this time, he was the Operations Controller for the European Companies in England, Germany and Spain, France and Italy, living in England with his family for nearly four years, then promoted to Vice President Treasurer, Controller at the Canadian Company in Montreal for three years where he learned fluent French. The family came back to Lancaster in 1984 where he was with Carpet Operations until he retired in 1989. After retirement he was offered a job in France by Armstrong converting a recently purchased French Corporations' Balance Sheets and Income Statements and computerizing them in a format suitable to Armstrong needs while working in French. It was an exciting time for him and Jackie and they were there for about 6 months. During his time at the Floor Plant, he volunteered with United Way as well as Junior Achievement. He and his wife loved to dance, and they danced eastern style square dancing locally in N.H. as well as ballroom dancing to big bands at the Commodore Ballroom in Lowell, Mass. before coming with Armstrong. After marriage they had three children, Bradley who died at birth, Jeffrey who was killed on Lemon St. in downtown Lancaster and a daughter Deborah that died of a massive brain aneurysm. Dancing slowed with children but after retirement dancing took off in a big way and he and Jackie danced their hearts out for nearly 30 years all over the USA and Canada with ballroom dancing as their hobby. They were Treasurers of the Universal Round Dance Council for 16 years. They spent winters in Arizona dancing for most of that time until they decided they were over the hill and returned full time back to Lancaster. Sherm lost his beloved life partner in July of 2020. Sherm and his wife Jackie lived a love story all their own. He was a family man and loved to spend family time camping, fishing, boating, bowling, hiking, skiing, skating, snowshoeing, ice fishing, hunting, with his family and he practiced lapidary and silver smithing making many items of fine jewelry, green Williamsite (local) and fire agate from Arizona and Mexico, his favorites. Another of his many hobbies was genealogy. In addition to tracing his wife's genealogy to about 600 AD in England and royalty, the Mayflower and one of the owners of the three ships landing in Jamestown, Va., he also traced his ancestry of Foote, Mitchell, Kimball, and Cilley on his paternal side and Bates, Gage, Marston, Merrill and Hall on his maternal side all coming from England in the 1630s. They all settled in New Hampshire and Maine. The last few years of his life were difficult to bear with the loss of his wife married for 68 years and knowing her as his sweetheart for 73 years. He had no close relatives nearby. He was very fortunate to have wonderful neighbors, one couple in particular who he called his family. There is another very close couple that used to live nearby but had to move back to California to be with their aging parents whom he also called his family. He also leaves behind his cousins in Milford N.H. and in Maine as well as a niece and nephew in Texas and cousins in California and a cousin in Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He lived a happy, productive life with his wonderful parents and loving wife partner Jackie and now he is reunited with them and two sons Bradley and Jeffrey and Debbie in heaven. Any noise you hear will be him and Jackie dancing there. Funeral Services will be private.