Mary Jane Foley

Jane or "Mere" as her grandchildren called her - passed on to her eternal life with our Lord and Savior on Tuesday, December 2,2014 after dedicating her life to helping others and raising a family of 13 children. Jane was born in New Orleans, LA on September 18, 1919. She attended Dominican High School and Newcomb College on a music scholarship and was a gifted violinist. She then completed her studies with degree at Soule' business college. During World War II, she worked directly for Andrew Higgins at the Higgins Boat Yard where she met her husband of 58 years, Ivan Mcivor Foley. Later in life, after teaching Spanish children in a bi-lingual preschool, she would go on to help found the Catholic Resettlement Program with the help of her good friends Elise Cerniglia and Camille Guarisco. This organization would grow and eventually be folded into the Catholic Charities. At the age of 62 she became a Federal Immigration Officer - to better serve the immigrants in need of her caring love. She worked at Associated Catholic Charities until her retirement Mom was a faithful parishioner of St. Rita's Parish and a member of the St. Vincent DePaul Society. She was honored to receive the Regina Matrum award from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. She was also named Alumna of the Year by Dominican High School. Mom greatly enjoyed the game of bridge and particularly the company of her bridge partners - up to the week before her passing, at 95 years of age. Jane was a devoted Catholic and lived her life true to her Christian beliefs - especially the calling to help others less fortunate. A humble, patient, kind, loving, encouraging, and tireless servant of our Lord Jesus Christ are the words that define our mother's life. Mom spent her life in service to her family, the homeless, and refugees of various world conflicts. When she wasn't taking care of family responsibilities - she was engaged in actively helping to resettle refugees - first the Cubans of the Cuban Crisis, then the Vietnamese, and finally the refugees of the various African conflicts. Mom is survived by her 13 children Ivan M. Foley, Jr. (Mary), Denver, CO; Timothy A. Foley,(Sharon), New Orleans, LA; Nancy J. Foley (Denver, CO); Robert M. Foley (Daria), Covington, LA, Patricia Hyland (Bernie), Asheville, NC; Michael R. Foley (Beth), Mandeville, LA; Stephen J. Foley (Cindy), Denver, CO; Albert S. Foley, Roswell, GA; Anita F. Marshall, Houston, TX; Joseph A. Foley (Amy), Denver, CO; Richard M. Foley (Ludivine), New Orleans, LA; Jeanne F. David (Danny), Santa Barbara, CA; Carol Foley, New Orleans, LA., 51 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren. Jane is also survived by her sister Genevieve M. Covington, Laurinburg, NC. Our family wishes to express our gratitude to Margaret Cummings, her friend, her bridge partner, and most importantly, her Eucharistic Minister, whose constant love and attention was a pillar of strength and a great source of comfort to our Mother. We also want to express our deep gratitude to Ms. Monique Baxter, whose caring attention and devotion to our Mom brought her many years of happy moments at the end of her stay here with us on earth. In lieu of sending flowers Jane asked that friends make a donation to Catholic Charities which was the organization for her life's work to help those in need. Visitation will be held at St. Rita's Church on Broad Place and Pine St. on Saturday, December 6,2014, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., with the Mass of Christian burial at 11:00. Interment to follow in St. Patrick's Cemetery #3.