Lewis Foy, Bethlehem Steel head

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lewis W. Foy, 94, a former head of Bethlehem Steel Corp., died Friday at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill here.

Mr. Foy rose through Bethlehem's purchasing department to become chairman and chief executive officer in 1974. He ran the company for six years at a time when foreign competition was bringing an end to the big-steel era in the United States.

In 1977, three years after he took the helm, the company's 43-year run of profits came to an end and Bethlehem posted a $448 million loss for the year.

Steelmaking in this iconic city ended in 1995, though the company continued to make steel elsewhere. In May 1998, it bought Lukens Inc., a Coatesville, Pa., steel company. After Bethlehem went bankrupt in October 2001, the Lukens property was sold twice, ending up with Mittal Steel Co. NV.

Former Bethlehem chairman Walter Williams told the Morning Call of Allentown that Mr. Foy "did a good job, considering all the problems the steel industry had."

A native of Shanksville, Somerset County, Mr. Foy was a captain of his high school football team and an Army private in World War II. He joined Bethlehem Steel as an accountant in Johnstown in 1936 and later was a trustee at Moravian College in Bethlehem, where he received an honorary degree.

In 1982, the college dedicated Foy Concert Hall, a 425-seat facility on the college's Church Street campus.

Mr. Foy's wife of 62 years, Marjorie W. Foy, died in 2004.