Joseph John "Joe" Foulkes, 74, died Tuesday, Aug. 24. For more than 25 years he was a television meteorologist known for his guttural voice and the way he scratched on weather maps with a pen.
The primetime Hampton Roads weatherman began working for WTAR-TV Channel 3 - which later became WTKR - in 1952. After leaving the station in 1959 to go into private business, he returned to forecast the weather for WVEC-TV, Channel 13, in 1964.
The former forecaster with the Naval Weather Service would spend several hours a day compiling his forecasts at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. He would then drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel each night to get to WVEC's Hampton studios for the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
He signed off his forecasts with a Navy salute.
In the mid 1980s he was transferred to doing early morning and noon forecasts as well as the weekend weather part time until retiring from WVEC in 1988.
Jim Kincaid, news anchor for WVEC, worked with Joe for the better part of 10 years. Joe first welcomed Kincaid when the he began at the station in 1978.
"We were like old friends by the next day," Kincaid said. "He was one of the warmest people I've ever known; we respected each other. I watched Joe. He knew what he was doing; his weather reports were as perfect as you can get with an imperfect science and living in this area where conditions can change rapidly. He had a better record for accuracy than the National Weather Service."
"He was a kind person. He understood why the weather was important to people. He knew people wanted to know what to wear the next day or how to plan their activities, but his real concern was for the watermen and farmers in this area, people for whom the weather had an impact on their livelihoods," Kincaid said.
Following his retirement he sold residential real estate for Coldwell Banker Garman in Chesapeake and was an expert witness on the weather for area trials. Asked about what that type of testimony would entail, Mr. Foulkes said, "Sometimes, they want to know if it was light enough on a certain night for a crime to have been committed. I would research it and testify."
Mr. Foulkes, who grew up in East Islip on Long Island, discovered a love for meteorology when he was employed by the operations department of Trans World Airlines. He was with the Naval Weather Service during World War II, and after leaving the Navy in the early 1950s began his broadcast career.
In 1977 Mr. Foulkes was the first Tidewater recipient of the National Weather Service Public Service Award, which usually goes to someone for acting heroically during a weather crisis. He got it for being a good forecaster, day in and day out.
He is survived by his wife, Nadine Gibson Foulkes; an aunt, Nora Wade of New York; a cousin, Eva Flamond of New York; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Luther S. Gibson and Janiece M. Gibson.
A Christian wake service will be held at 7 tonight at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel. A funeral Mass will be conducted at noon Friday in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Oceana Naval Air Station, by Father Edward L. Richardson. Burial will be in Eastern Shore Chapel Church Cemetery with military honors.
The primetime Hampton Roads weatherman began working for WTAR-TV Channel 3 - which later became WTKR - in 1952. After leaving the station in 1959 to go into private business, he returned to forecast the weather for WVEC-TV, Channel 13, in 1964.
The former forecaster with the Naval Weather Service would spend several hours a day compiling his forecasts at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. He would then drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel each night to get to WVEC's Hampton studios for the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
He signed off his forecasts with a Navy salute.
In the mid 1980s he was transferred to doing early morning and noon forecasts as well as the weekend weather part time until retiring from WVEC in 1988.
Jim Kincaid, news anchor for WVEC, worked with Joe for the better part of 10 years. Joe first welcomed Kincaid when the he began at the station in 1978.
"We were like old friends by the next day," Kincaid said. "He was one of the warmest people I've ever known; we respected each other. I watched Joe. He knew what he was doing; his weather reports were as perfect as you can get with an imperfect science and living in this area where conditions can change rapidly. He had a better record for accuracy than the National Weather Service."
"He was a kind person. He understood why the weather was important to people. He knew people wanted to know what to wear the next day or how to plan their activities, but his real concern was for the watermen and farmers in this area, people for whom the weather had an impact on their livelihoods," Kincaid said.
Following his retirement he sold residential real estate for Coldwell Banker Garman in Chesapeake and was an expert witness on the weather for area trials. Asked about what that type of testimony would entail, Mr. Foulkes said, "Sometimes, they want to know if it was light enough on a certain night for a crime to have been committed. I would research it and testify."
Mr. Foulkes, who grew up in East Islip on Long Island, discovered a love for meteorology when he was employed by the operations department of Trans World Airlines. He was with the Naval Weather Service during World War II, and after leaving the Navy in the early 1950s began his broadcast career.
In 1977 Mr. Foulkes was the first Tidewater recipient of the National Weather Service Public Service Award, which usually goes to someone for acting heroically during a weather crisis. He got it for being a good forecaster, day in and day out.
He is survived by his wife, Nadine Gibson Foulkes; an aunt, Nora Wade of New York; a cousin, Eva Flamond of New York; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Luther S. Gibson and Janiece M. Gibson.
A Christian wake service will be held at 7 tonight at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel. A funeral Mass will be conducted at noon Friday in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Oceana Naval Air Station, by Father Edward L. Richardson. Burial will be in Eastern Shore Chapel Church Cemetery with military honors.
Joseph John "Joe" Foulkes, 74, died Tuesday, Aug. 24. For more than 25 years he was a television meteorologist known for his guttural voice and the way he scratched on weather maps with a pen.
The primetime Hampton Roads weatherman began working for WTAR-TV Channel 3 - which later became WTKR - in 1952. After leaving the station in 1959 to go into private business, he returned to forecast the weather for WVEC-TV, Channel 13, in 1964.
The former forecaster with the Naval Weather Service would spend several hours a day compiling his forecasts at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. He would then drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel each night to get to WVEC's Hampton studios for the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
He signed off his forecasts with a Navy salute.
In the mid 1980s he was transferred to doing early morning and noon forecasts as well as the weekend weather part time until retiring from WVEC in 1988.
Jim Kincaid, news anchor for WVEC, worked with Joe for the better part of 10 years. Joe first welcomed Kincaid when the he began at the station in 1978.
"We were like old friends by the next day," Kincaid said. "He was one of the warmest people I've ever known; we respected each other. I watched Joe. He knew what he was doing; his weather reports were as perfect as you can get with an imperfect science and living in this area where conditions can change rapidly. He had a better record for accuracy than the National Weather Service."
"He was a kind person. He understood why the weather was important to people. He knew people wanted to know what to wear the next day or how to plan their activities, but his real concern was for the watermen and farmers in this area, people for whom the weather had an impact on their livelihoods," Kincaid said.
Following his retirement he sold residential real estate for Coldwell Banker Garman in Chesapeake and was an expert witness on the weather for area trials. Asked about what that type of testimony would entail, Mr. Foulkes said, "Sometimes, they want to know if it was light enough on a certain night for a crime to have been committed. I would research it and testify."
Mr. Foulkes, who grew up in East Islip on Long Island, discovered a love for meteorology when he was employed by the operations department of Trans World Airlines. He was with the Naval Weather Service during World War II, and after leaving the Navy in the early 1950s began his broadcast career.
In 1977 Mr. Foulkes was the first Tidewater recipient of the National Weather Service Public Service Award, which usually goes to someone for acting heroically during a weather crisis. He got it for being a good forecaster, day in and day out.
He is survived by his wife, Nadine Gibson Foulkes; an aunt, Nora Wade of New York; a cousin, Eva Flamond of New York; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Luther S. Gibson and Janiece M. Gibson.
A Christian wake service will be held at 7 tonight at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel. A funeral Mass will be conducted at noon Friday in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Oceana Naval Air Station, by Father Edward L. Richardson. Burial will be in Eastern Shore Chapel Church Cemetery with military honors.
The primetime Hampton Roads weatherman began working for WTAR-TV Channel 3 - which later became WTKR - in 1952. After leaving the station in 1959 to go into private business, he returned to forecast the weather for WVEC-TV, Channel 13, in 1964.
The former forecaster with the Naval Weather Service would spend several hours a day compiling his forecasts at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. He would then drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel each night to get to WVEC's Hampton studios for the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
He signed off his forecasts with a Navy salute.
In the mid 1980s he was transferred to doing early morning and noon forecasts as well as the weekend weather part time until retiring from WVEC in 1988.
Jim Kincaid, news anchor for WVEC, worked with Joe for the better part of 10 years. Joe first welcomed Kincaid when the he began at the station in 1978.
"We were like old friends by the next day," Kincaid said. "He was one of the warmest people I've ever known; we respected each other. I watched Joe. He knew what he was doing; his weather reports were as perfect as you can get with an imperfect science and living in this area where conditions can change rapidly. He had a better record for accuracy than the National Weather Service."
"He was a kind person. He understood why the weather was important to people. He knew people wanted to know what to wear the next day or how to plan their activities, but his real concern was for the watermen and farmers in this area, people for whom the weather had an impact on their livelihoods," Kincaid said.
Following his retirement he sold residential real estate for Coldwell Banker Garman in Chesapeake and was an expert witness on the weather for area trials. Asked about what that type of testimony would entail, Mr. Foulkes said, "Sometimes, they want to know if it was light enough on a certain night for a crime to have been committed. I would research it and testify."
Mr. Foulkes, who grew up in East Islip on Long Island, discovered a love for meteorology when he was employed by the operations department of Trans World Airlines. He was with the Naval Weather Service during World War II, and after leaving the Navy in the early 1950s began his broadcast career.
In 1977 Mr. Foulkes was the first Tidewater recipient of the National Weather Service Public Service Award, which usually goes to someone for acting heroically during a weather crisis. He got it for being a good forecaster, day in and day out.
He is survived by his wife, Nadine Gibson Foulkes; an aunt, Nora Wade of New York; a cousin, Eva Flamond of New York; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Luther S. Gibson and Janiece M. Gibson.
A Christian wake service will be held at 7 tonight at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel. A funeral Mass will be conducted at noon Friday in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Oceana Naval Air Station, by Father Edward L. Richardson. Burial will be in Eastern Shore Chapel Church Cemetery with military honors.
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