ShareThisBy AMIE PARNES
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Edward J. Foley, 85, the father of former Florida Rep. Mark Foley, died Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer, a family member confirmed Wednesday.
Foley was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 and had suffered from the disease ever since. He died at the Hospice of Palm Beach County near his Lake Worth, Fla., home.
Foley is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Frances, whom he met in Catholic school, and their five children, Donna, Cathleen, Eddie and Elizabeth, in addition to Mark.
The former high-school principal, teacher and Massachusetts native was known to frequently fly to Washington, together with Fran, so they could see their son at work as a member of Congress.
The proud parents often visited Mark Foley's congressional office, sat in on committee hearings and attended fund-raising functions.
Earlier this year, the elder Foley watched his son entertain a crowd of constituents and supporters in Washington by doing an impersonation of Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat. Ed Foley, seated near the stage, beamed with pride and laughed along with the crowd.
Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in late September after sexually explicit online messages he wrote to teenage congressional pages surfaced, is said to still be in a rehabilitation facility in Arizona, undergoing treatment for alcohol and behavioral issues.
Since then, Ed Foley and other shaken family members have been trying their best to "pick up the pieces" and cope with the fallout of the scandal, a source close to the family said.
Friends say they admired the family's tight bond and support for one another.
In 2003, Mark Foley dropped out of the race for the U.S. Senate, citing his father's cancer diagnosis as the reason.
"He's always been there for me and I have to be there for him," Foley said at the time.
Palm Beach Country Commissioner Karen Marcus said she always remembers the elder Foley by the younger Foley's side.
"(Ed Foley) was a great family man, someone who was very supportive of his kids," she said. "He had a great sense of humor. There was never a bad or mean thing coming out of his mouth."
A viewing for Foley will be held on Friday from 5-8 p.m. at Quattlebaum-Hollman-Burse Funeral Home in West Palm Beach. A memorial Mass will be held at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church on Saturday at 9:30 a.m., followed by a burial at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Cemetery in Royal Palm Beach.
(E-mail Amie Parnes at parnesa(at)shns.com)
