Posted Date: 5/11/2010
Margaret Foley, who spent two decades in nursing at Kaweah Delta hospital and another two decades on the health district's board of directors, died of cancer Sunday, her family said.
She was 87.
Foley cited health reasons when she stepped down in March from her position on the Kaweah Delta Health Care District board.
She'd held the position since 1990, when she decided to run for public office a few days after her retirement from nursing. She had spent the previous 21 years at the hospital, her expertise in newborns and their mothers.
Inside and outside the hospital, she leaves a legacy of devoted public service.
"It was very much her character and core belief," said daughter Sara Fox. "She never had to preach, because she led by example."
Life didn't start easy for Foley. Both of her parents were dead by the time she was 13, leaving her in charge of three younger brothers in the Depression era. But at a young age she decided nursing would be her path to a better life.
She was a nurse in the Army during World War II before her career led her to Visalia.
Named the Visalia Chamber of Commerce's Woman of the Year in 1980, Foley made her community a better place, her family said.
Her community service ranged from Tulare County mental health services to Porterville's state hospital, from St. Paul's Episcopal Church to Self-Help Enterprises, from College of the Sequoias to Tulare County Legal Services, and much more. She was given the Rose Ann Vuich Ethical Leadership Award in 2006 and the California Hospital Council's Excellence in Governance Award in 1995.
Kaweah Delta was an especially large source of pride for Foley.
"She was always very proud of how hard people in the hospital worked — not just the administration," her daughter said, adding that her mother took pride in the work ethic of nurses, specialists, cooks, janitors and others.
On Kaweah Delta's board, Foley was involved in epic growth by the district. The recent Acequia Wing expansion includes an education center in her honor.
She also played a role in the addition of The Lifestyle Center, Quail Park Retirement Village, Kaweah Delta Rehabilitation Hospital, Kaweah Delta Mental Health Hospital and more.
But she never forgot her nursing roots, and each new proposal always came back to patient care.
"That drove everything that she did," her daughter said.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 30 years, Jim Foley, a Fresno Bee reporter who passed away in 1980.
She is survived by five children: James Foley of Sebastapol, John Foley of Santa Clara, Morgan Foley of La Mesa, Sara Fox of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Patricia Teaford of Long Beach. She is also survived by seven grandchildren.
Services were being finalized Monday night.
(Visalia Times Delta)
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