Irene Ida Foley, age 86 of Carroll, died on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Friday, March 12, 2021 at St. John Paul II Catholic Parish – Holy Spirit Church. Fr. Kevin Richter will be the celebrant. Music will be provided by Jane Heithoff and Kathy Kraus. Lectors will be Kim Wallace and KayLynn Lofgren. Kelly Foley will be the Eucharistic Minister. Casket Bearers will be Kenny Foley Jr., Kelly Foley, Jake Foley, Mark Uhlenkamp, Ron Uhlenkamp, and Jim Uhlenkamp. A burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll.
A visitation will be held on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll. An additional visitation with no greeting of the family will be on Friday from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. at Holy Spirit Church. Memorial donations may be made in honor of Irene to Kuemper Catholic Schools.
A live-stream of the funeral mass will be available on the “Sharp Funeral Home – Carroll” YouTube page. A link will be available the day of Irene’s service.
Those in attendance of Irene’s services are required to wear a face covering and abide by social distancing
guidelines. Arrangements are under the guidance of Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Irene’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Irene was born on August 18, 1934 in Dedham, Iowa, the daughter of Louie and Francis (Willenborg) Uhlenkamp. At the age of four, Irene’s mom passed away and their family moved to Templeton where Irene was raised for most of her childhood life. She graduated high school in Templeton. Irene married John “Jack” Foley, her neighbor, on December 19, 1954. This union was blessed with seven children. While Jack spent three years in the service, Irene moved to Carroll to live with her in-laws. She was a stay-at home mom until all of her kids were old enough to go to school. Then she spent a majority of her life working as secretary at Holy Spirit School. She held this position until her husband Jack was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the 90’s. After Jack died, Irene began working for Caring Hands in 2003. As a longtime member of Holy Spirit, she was part of the Ladies Guild, the Catholic Daughters, and many times she would help out at the Knights of Columbus when her husband was there.
Some of Irene’s hobbies included reading, puzzles, and traveling. She loved taking care of her grandkids and great grandkids. The thing about Irene was she loved her family. She was a “me too” kind of person, meaning she was always going where someone in her family was going. Irene wanted to make memories that could last a lifetime not only for herself, but for her family. So whether it was traveling or at home, she cherished every moment she spent with each and every family member.
Irene is survived by her children Carolyn (Wayne) Smith of Ankeny; Rick (Cherie) Foley of Carroll; Bob (Georgia) Foley of Omaha, Nebraska; Jacqui (Steve) Scharfenkamp of Lidderdale; Vicky Foley (special friend Marty Rath) of Storm Lake; Cheryl (Scott) Raverty of Farmington, Minnesota; and Tami (Mike) Bernholtz of Lincoln, Nebraska; 17 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; brothers-in-law Bernie Foley of California; Kenny Foley of Carroll; and Malick (Rosie) Foley of Texas; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband Jack in 2002; brothers Hank Uhlenkamp and Joe (Shirley) Uhlenkamp; sister Delores (Norbert) Brincks; nephew Tom Brincks; parents-in-law Sally and Ed Foley; sisters-in-law Colene (Bill) Beidler, Marilyn “Tots” Foley, and Connie Foley.