Obituary for CariDee R. Foley
CariDee Rose Foley, 83, passed away Sunday, March 12, 2023 at her home.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 am on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Watertown with Father John Fischer as celebrant. The family will meet at 9:30 o’clock a.m. for a family prayer service.
NOTE LOCATION: Visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 pm, with scripture at 6:00 pm followed by the rosary on Friday, March 24, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church.
Burial will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Watertown.
Memorials may be designated to Watertown Regional Library from her Book Club, "Ladies of the Scarlet Canopy" or Codington County 4-H Leaders or Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Watertown.
Pallbearers will be CariDee’s grandchildren and great grandchildren, Mary (Dale) Foley Holt, Andrew E. (Christina Ferma) Foley, John N. (Melanie) Foley, Joseph V. Foley, Thomas B. Foley, Michael (Melissa Meyer, MD) Madigan, MD, Matthew (Claire) Madigan, Kelly Madigan, Katherine McCarr, Elizabeth McCarr, Thomas McCarr, Emerson Foley, Oliver Foley, John “Jack” Foley, Fremont Forsberg, Gregory Forsberg, Robert Forsberg, Samson Holt and Miriam Rose Holt.
CariDee Rose Foley (nee Cordes) was born on March 18, 1939, in Keystone, South Dakota to Amelia (Zwetzig) and Vincent Cordes. CariDee grew up in the Black Hills- a place she held close to her heart long throughout her life. She would proudly tell you she worked as a waitress at the Powder House Lodge to pay her way through college. After grade school in Keystone, and High School at Cathedral High School in Rapid City, she attended South Dakota State University, where she met her beloved husband, John Lawrence Foley, graduating in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
On September 2, 1961, CariDee married John L. Foley at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Hill City, South Dakota. She and John lived in Pierre, South Dakota where she worked as nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital. CariDee and John moved to Vermillion while he attended and graduated from the University Of South Dakota Law School. While in Vermillion, CariDee worked in student services as a registered nurse for one year. The couple moved to Watertown in 1967 for John to join his father to practice law and raise a family. In the mid 1990’s, CariDee took on a new adventure and bought a bridal shop in downtown Watertown. Always social, CariDee enjoyed helping brides and store patrons over the years, balancing work with raising her five children, whom she loved dearly. CariDee was also very involved in the 4-H community in Watertown from 1973 to 1985, as a mentor and leader to numerous kids, and then continued serving in a volunteer capacity with the 4-H Leaders.
CariDee was a talented seamstress making clothing, including dresses for her daughters’ dances, Lions Club Ice Show costumes, quilting and vestments for the Catholic Church priests. She was also a knitter, avid cardplayer, committed volunteer for the Lion’s Club, and a faithful congregant member of Holy Name Church of Jesus. She served others through home visits to the elderly, and volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
She loved being a Mom, never missing a child’s event, watching dress-up shows, water ski shows and anything her children thought she should see.
CariDee also loved to travel. She travelled with John internationally, and through the United States having instructed the children to move to the four corners of the United States so she could come visit. A travel highlight for her, with stories oft-repeated, was John and her trip to China when the Forsbergs lived there.
Above all, CariDee cherished her title as “Goppy” among her 17 grandchildren and 2 greatgrandchildren, and particularly enjoyed watching them grow up in the summer months at Lake Kampeska. Each one would learn the countdown to sunsets standing on the end of the dock on clear and peaceful summer nights.
She would always have her groups of friends and their activities: the North Maple Mothers; the “Bridge” Club; the Stitch and Bitch friends; and her Monday card group in the Northridge Circle. She was a founding member in 1999 of her book club, the “Ladies of the Scarlet Canopy”. She thoroughly enjoyed their company, accepted their input on the book of the month, but then very clearly provided her view.
She also shared a longstanding friendship of Sixty-One (61) years with three of her nursing classmates from SDSU that always spanned the distance that separated them. Through the years, the friends would travel to see each other and take trips with spouses as well. Most recently, this past October, they all traveled to Illinois and rented an Airbnb to simply enjoy each other’s company.
Her life took a new direction as she became “poster patient” for Mayo Clinic-Rochester for the left -ventricular assistive device team (LVAD). Her LVAD was placed in September 2014, and she learned to manage it independently and all the challenges it presented.
A reveler in simple pleasures, CariDee found life’s small joys, from sunsets to ponderosa pines, to always be “just delightful”. CariDee will be remembered for her independent spirit, quirky sense of humor, and boundless unconditional love for the family.
CariDee is survived by her children, Vincent A. (Patricia M.) Foley of Watertown, SD, Ann (Mike) Madigan of Winston-Salem, NC, Sheila (Tom) McCarr of St. Paul, MN, John C. (Tamara) Foley, MD of Minneapolis, MN and Molly (GII) Forsberg of St. Paul, MN; 17 grandchildren (named as pallbearers); two great-grandchildren; her siblings, Mary Lee Smith of Rapid City, SD, LaVeta (Dean) Giannonatti, of Rapid City, SD and Bernard Cordes, of Keystone, SD; her brother-in-law, Richard “Dick” Seymour of North Glenn, CO; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, John; her infant daughter Mary Patricia, her brothers-in-law Joseph (Patricia) Foley, Msgr. Andrew E. Foley, Jr., Sisters-in-law Sr. Marie Foley, R.S.M., Virginia Seymour; and her nephews, Gregory Seymour, Michael Foley, and Andrew Foley.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 am on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Watertown with Father John Fischer as celebrant. The family will meet at 9:30 o’clock a.m. for a family prayer service.
NOTE LOCATION: Visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 pm, with scripture at 6:00 pm followed by the rosary on Friday, March 24, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church.
Burial will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Watertown.
Memorials may be designated to Watertown Regional Library from her Book Club, "Ladies of the Scarlet Canopy" or Codington County 4-H Leaders or Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Watertown.
Pallbearers will be CariDee’s grandchildren and great grandchildren, Mary (Dale) Foley Holt, Andrew E. (Christina Ferma) Foley, John N. (Melanie) Foley, Joseph V. Foley, Thomas B. Foley, Michael (Melissa Meyer, MD) Madigan, MD, Matthew (Claire) Madigan, Kelly Madigan, Katherine McCarr, Elizabeth McCarr, Thomas McCarr, Emerson Foley, Oliver Foley, John “Jack” Foley, Fremont Forsberg, Gregory Forsberg, Robert Forsberg, Samson Holt and Miriam Rose Holt.
CariDee Rose Foley (nee Cordes) was born on March 18, 1939, in Keystone, South Dakota to Amelia (Zwetzig) and Vincent Cordes. CariDee grew up in the Black Hills- a place she held close to her heart long throughout her life. She would proudly tell you she worked as a waitress at the Powder House Lodge to pay her way through college. After grade school in Keystone, and High School at Cathedral High School in Rapid City, she attended South Dakota State University, where she met her beloved husband, John Lawrence Foley, graduating in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
On September 2, 1961, CariDee married John L. Foley at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Hill City, South Dakota. She and John lived in Pierre, South Dakota where she worked as nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital. CariDee and John moved to Vermillion while he attended and graduated from the University Of South Dakota Law School. While in Vermillion, CariDee worked in student services as a registered nurse for one year. The couple moved to Watertown in 1967 for John to join his father to practice law and raise a family. In the mid 1990’s, CariDee took on a new adventure and bought a bridal shop in downtown Watertown. Always social, CariDee enjoyed helping brides and store patrons over the years, balancing work with raising her five children, whom she loved dearly. CariDee was also very involved in the 4-H community in Watertown from 1973 to 1985, as a mentor and leader to numerous kids, and then continued serving in a volunteer capacity with the 4-H Leaders.
CariDee was a talented seamstress making clothing, including dresses for her daughters’ dances, Lions Club Ice Show costumes, quilting and vestments for the Catholic Church priests. She was also a knitter, avid cardplayer, committed volunteer for the Lion’s Club, and a faithful congregant member of Holy Name Church of Jesus. She served others through home visits to the elderly, and volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
She loved being a Mom, never missing a child’s event, watching dress-up shows, water ski shows and anything her children thought she should see.
CariDee also loved to travel. She travelled with John internationally, and through the United States having instructed the children to move to the four corners of the United States so she could come visit. A travel highlight for her, with stories oft-repeated, was John and her trip to China when the Forsbergs lived there.
Above all, CariDee cherished her title as “Goppy” among her 17 grandchildren and 2 greatgrandchildren, and particularly enjoyed watching them grow up in the summer months at Lake Kampeska. Each one would learn the countdown to sunsets standing on the end of the dock on clear and peaceful summer nights.
She would always have her groups of friends and their activities: the North Maple Mothers; the “Bridge” Club; the Stitch and Bitch friends; and her Monday card group in the Northridge Circle. She was a founding member in 1999 of her book club, the “Ladies of the Scarlet Canopy”. She thoroughly enjoyed their company, accepted their input on the book of the month, but then very clearly provided her view.
She also shared a longstanding friendship of Sixty-One (61) years with three of her nursing classmates from SDSU that always spanned the distance that separated them. Through the years, the friends would travel to see each other and take trips with spouses as well. Most recently, this past October, they all traveled to Illinois and rented an Airbnb to simply enjoy each other’s company.
Her life took a new direction as she became “poster patient” for Mayo Clinic-Rochester for the left -ventricular assistive device team (LVAD). Her LVAD was placed in September 2014, and she learned to manage it independently and all the challenges it presented.
A reveler in simple pleasures, CariDee found life’s small joys, from sunsets to ponderosa pines, to always be “just delightful”. CariDee will be remembered for her independent spirit, quirky sense of humor, and boundless unconditional love for the family.
CariDee is survived by her children, Vincent A. (Patricia M.) Foley of Watertown, SD, Ann (Mike) Madigan of Winston-Salem, NC, Sheila (Tom) McCarr of St. Paul, MN, John C. (Tamara) Foley, MD of Minneapolis, MN and Molly (GII) Forsberg of St. Paul, MN; 17 grandchildren (named as pallbearers); two great-grandchildren; her siblings, Mary Lee Smith of Rapid City, SD, LaVeta (Dean) Giannonatti, of Rapid City, SD and Bernard Cordes, of Keystone, SD; her brother-in-law, Richard “Dick” Seymour of North Glenn, CO; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, John; her infant daughter Mary Patricia, her brothers-in-law Joseph (Patricia) Foley, Msgr. Andrew E. Foley, Jr., Sisters-in-law Sr. Marie Foley, R.S.M., Virginia Seymour; and her nephews, Gregory Seymour, Michael Foley, and Andrew Foley.