Irene T. (Doll) Foley

Irene Therese Foley (Doll) was born on November 4th, 1925 to Albert and Evelyn (Degnan) Doll at the family farm on Wauzeka Ridge. She graduated from Wauzeka high school. Irene came from a very musical family and enjoyed playing piano, dancing, and listening to music. She told her children a story of driving a Model T without brakes to get to the local dance. Her brothers were often band members at these dances. She also told her children stories about driving the tractor with different implements attached to it on the dangerous ridge roads on her family farm. 

She married Calvin J. Foley on December 8th, 1951 in Atlanta Georgia in the Catholic chapel on the Army base before he left for the Korean war. Irene was a stay-at-home mom during her children’s young years. She held several jobs throughout life and was well respected among her colleagues. Some of the jobs she held were at Advance Transformer in Boscobel, she sold Avon, Shaklee and when her mother-in-law went into the nursing home she worked as a CNA while keeping an eye on Hattie.  She continued her CNA duties at the Boscobel Nursing Home for several years thereafter. She often held jobs into which she poured loving care into others such as caregiving with Homeward Bound. 

She was a member of a bowling league and her team went to state. She and Cal enjoyed a card club with a group of close friends playing euchre. The family enjoyed going to shows at the Coliseum in Oelwein Iowa to see her brother play in her brother’s “Andy Doll” Band. She was actively involved with the Steuben American Legion Auxiliary. 

Irene’s Catholic faith was first and foremost in her life. Her children all attended Catholic school. She was a firm believer in “the family that prays together stays together” and her children remember praying the rosary on their knees as a family. Her faith was the lens through which she saw the world. She was a prayer warrior and would call friends and family and pray with them over the phone, and would call upon others to pray. She was a member of the Immaculate Conception Church and was involved in bible studies, prayer groups, altar society, and Deanery. She was a member of the Irish Tabernacle Choir and sang at funerals. She reflected often on being a member of an ecumenical choir that offered Christmas concerts every year. 

She was a loving wife, mother, grand and great-grandmother. She conscientiously strove to keep in touch with her family and friends, wanting to know how they were and what they were doing. She is remembered for the cards and letters that she sent throughout the year. She was always thinking of others, constantly giving of herself while thinking very little of her own needs. She is remembered by her community for her thought-provoking letters to the editor. 

She is survived by her 5 children Linda (Edwin) Marks of Westby, Patrick (Terri) Foley of Boscobel, Joseph Foley of Juda, Jane Eckerman of Onalaska, Nanette (James) Washburn of Soldiers Grove, 18 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Calvin, her parents Albert and Evelyn Doll, her daughter Mary Lee, her siblings Paul Doll, Lawrence Doll, Andy Doll, Marie Wagner, Dorothy Wagner-Serwin, and grandchildren Amelia Theresa and John Bartley Marks.

“Well done good and faithful servant (…) come and share your master’s happiness!”-Matthew 25:23

A Mass of Chritian Burial will be held on Monday March 28, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Boscobel.  Father Christopher Padilla officiating. Burial at St. Patrick's Catholic Church Cemetery Seneca. Friends may call on Sunday March 27, 2022 from 4:00-7:00 P.M. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Boscobel "Old School" building. Friends may also call on Monday March 28, 2022 from 10:00 A.M. until the time of service at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The Kendall Funeral Service in Boscobel is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers memorials can be given to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church or the Steuben American Legion Auxiliary. Online condolences can be sent to www.kendallfuneralservice.com

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