Obituary: Public servant Leo Foley, 87, was a master of reinvention

Lord only knows what former state Sen. Leo T. Foley is up to now, but if his life is any example, his death Feb. 5 at age 87 from Lewy body dementia was just another turning point.

Foley — laborer, medic, trooper, lawyer, politician — will be remembered most for his ability to reinvent himself, said his oldest daughter, Jane Doyle.

"What made my dad remarkable was the tenacious way he lived his life," she said. "Too frequently, people fall into a rut in their lives, comfortable with themselves or their situation. But not my father. He always pushed himself to do more, learn more, and searched for ways to better serve his community."

Foley was born in 1928 on a farm in Anoka County. His father's death forced the family to sell when he was still young. At 18, he took a job as a laborer for the Great Northern Railway, then served as a medic in the Navy during the Korean War. When he returned home in 1952, he got a security job at the Twin Cities Arsenal, which led two years later to a career with the Minnesota Highway Patrol.

Foley believed strongly in the power of education to transform lives, Doyle said. With the encouragement of his first wife, Sally, he attended night classes at Metropolitan State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1974 at the age of 45. He followed that up five years later with a master's in public administration from Mankato State University.

Foley retired from the Minnesota State Patrol as a major in 1987, then spent three years at Unisys Corp. as a security manager.

Six weeks after he got laid off from that job in 1990, Sally, who suffered from depression, killed herself.

"Despite his devastation over my mom's death and the loss of his job, he faced life head on and decided to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer," Doyle said.

"One of the things I'm most proud of was his willingness to talk openly and publicly about Mom's suicide," she said. "He worked to reduce the stigma of mental illness at a time when it wasn't talked about openly and was viewed by many as a weakness or a sin."

Foley enrolled at the William Mitchell College of Law while working as a deputy sheriff in Anoka County and later as a law clerk for the county attorney's office. He moved up to assistant county attorney after earning his law degree at the age of 65.

Foley met his second wife, Kathryn Marlys Foley, at a grief support group that he led. She was mourning her partner of 18 years, who died of a heart attack. He said he wanted to get to know her better.

"Nobody could say no to Leo," said Kathryn Foley, 67. "I thought, this is safe because he's older than me, and he's nice."

He proposed on their first date. She told him to settle down, but a year later, she asked him to marry her.

"He was really God's gift to me."

Foley was elected to the state Senate as a DFLer at age 68 — a position he held for 14 years. The state Legislative Reference Library lists his special concerns as education, health care, crime prevention, the environment, transportation and social services. He also served as a member of the Anoka Planning Commission, the Anoka Human Rights Commission, the Minnesota State Advisory Council and several public service organizations.

As the dementia and Parkinson's took its toll on Foley, his wife asked him about his goals, thinking of his end-of-life plans.

"Leo says he wants to go back to school," she said. "I told Leo, 'Most of us feel like slugs next to you.' "

Services for Foley have been held.