Mr. Patrick Joseph Foley of Otterbury Road, Clarkes Beach passed peacefully away at his private residence on Monday, February 20, 2023. Mr. Foley was 72 years old.
He leaves to mourn his loving family:
Wife: Diane
Sons: Chris (Reshelle) & Stephen
Grandchildren: Katelyn, Nicholas, Lauren, Serena & Zoe
Brothers: Mark Jr., Gerard, Rick & John (Lori)
Sisters: Mary (Roy) Jones, Marie, Joan, Rita (Gerald) Reardon & Bertha (Keith) Penney
Brother-in-law: Frank (Betty)
Sisters-in-law: Hyacinth & Lorraine
Fur Babies: Toby & Sandy
And a large circle of family and friends
Predeceased by:
Parents: Mark & Kate Foley
Brother: Stephen
Brother-in-law: Gordon & Barry
Patrick Joseph Foley, known by all as Pat, was born and raised in Tilting, Fogo Island, a small fishing outport on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. The second oldest of 10 siblings, he left the tiny village and his family as a teenager in the 1960s to find work in Ontario. His drive, work ethic, and determination allowed opportunities to find him. He met Diane Mercer in 1971, married shortly after, started a family, and returned to the island the following year. After a stint working at the newly built Come By Chance Refinery, he replied to an advertisement for a labourer position with the Town of Bay Roberts. He would spend the next four decades as a dedicated employee with the community, retiring in 2014 as Works Superintendent. Pat took pride in his career and the privilege that came along with helping people when they needed it most.
While he loved to work, he loved to play just as much. He was forever an outdoorsman, a sought after hunter and fisher who enjoyed sharing his stories and his catch. He was sometimes a fierce competitor, a ferocious hockey player as a child, a champion dart player in Bay Roberts in the 1970s, or punching above his weight as a frustrated Scrabble player later in life. He was at times an entertainer, a natural singer with a seemingly endless library of songs in his head who would sometimes accompany himself on the broom guitar. He enjoyed life as he thought it should be enjoyed and all the comforts that came with it from a lifetime of effort.
We will miss our husband, brother, dad, and poppy, but will remember him always.
A private Prayer Service will be held. In lieu of flowers, as expressions of sympathy, donations may be made in his loving memory to a Charity of One’s Choice.
Condolences may be written to the family at: sladesfuneralhome.ca , on the Memory Wall section of the obituary. For further information please call Slade’s Funeral Home, Bay Roberts at 786-2323.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Slade’s Funeral Home, serving Carbonear, Upper Island Cove, Bay Roberts, Spaniard’s Bay and surrounding areas.