Foley

Jim (James V. Foley) sailed away from life on earth November 11, 2018. He was born in Oakland, California on February 1, 1948, and with inborn inquisitiveness and creativity, started leading his parents, Lee Young Foley and James V. Foley, Sr. on a merry chase. During his early childhood he took up tap dancing, and became a young star on a local weekend children’s television show. His sense of rhythm was innate, and he switched to playing the drums. He continued playing drums for various groups and bands well into the 1980s. Jim married Mary (Dimmler) Foley, and their son, James Foley, III, was born in1968. Jim dropped out of college before graduation, shifting his focus to jewelry design. After an apprenticeship with a master goldsmith, he began making and selling his jewelry creations around the Bay Area of California. Jim had found his calling, and his rapidly advancing expertise led him to four years of teaching Jewelry Design at Peralta College in Oakland. Jim and his wife Lyn met in San Francisco in 1974 and married in 1977. Jim opened his first jewelry store in 1978, and graduated from the Geological Institute of America the same year. He earned certification as a Graduate Gemologist, and was also a certified diamond grader, colored gemstone identifier and grader, jewelry designer and a certified Jewelry Appraiser. With the assistance of his business partner and wife Lyn, Jim continued working as a Jewelry Designer and Jewelry Appraiser from 1978 until 1990. The original jewelry store, and other retail card and gift stores owned in partnership with his wife, grew and expanded over the years. Jim was active in the local business community, including the Oakland City Council. He spent some years as the President of the Piedmont Avenue Business Association, was a Rotary Club President, and a Paul Harris Fellow. In 1990 Jim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive degenerative neurological disorder with no known cause and no known cure. The symptoms of the disease damaged his fine motor skills and severely limited his ability to create jewelry. His neurologist predicted he would live only another five years. With that prediction ringing in their ears, Jim and his wife sold the businesses, the house and cars and most of their possession, and bought a sailboat. They moved aboard in 1991, beginning what was to become a circumnavigation of the world. Together aboard their boat, Sanctuary, they logged more than 35,000 sea miles, sailing to 39 countries. All the while they battled Parkinson’s. By 2002, at the completion of their circumnavigation, Jim and Lyn sold Sanctuary and moved to Round Top, Texas. Jim participated as a patient with a neurologist who was searching for a cure for Parkinson’s. As a “guinea pig” (as he called himself), Jim was the first to receive drugs, therapies, and one surgical procedure that might offer promise of a cure. No cure was found, however, several of the treatments given to Jim led to some improvement in his condition. Therefore, Jim was able to begin making jewelry again, and from 2002 until 2015, worked alongside his wife creating, making and selling custom jewelry. By 2015 the effects of the disease had ravaged Jim’s body and mind so much that he was unable to continue making jewelry, his great love. Jim battled Parkinson’s disease for 30 years, far surpassing the prediction of five years given him by a neurologist. His spirit of adventure, his creativity, his sense of humor, his loving, caring demeanor never wavered. He never gave up. He was an inspiration to us all. In 2013 the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society awarded him with the Lillie Cullen Quality of Life award. It was given in recognition of “an individual who lives or who helps others live with purpose and dignity amid the challenges that come with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.” In accordance with Jim’s desire to aid in finding a cure for Parkinson’s his body has been donated to scientific research. Jim is survived by his wife Lyn; his son James V. Foley- Cyr and wife Amy Foley-Cyr of Fridley, Minnesota; his sister and her spouse, Yvonne and Steve Worrell; his sister Patty Little; and his brother Dennis Foley, all of California. Jim loved and appreciated many friends here in Fayette County, especially a group that participated in sharing the care with his wife Lyn over the last two years. He was given additional loving care in the last eight months of his life by the staff of Monument Hill Nursing Facility, and in the last week by many from Hospice Brazos Valley, and the staff of St. Mark’s Hospital. Jim was blessed to have them in his life. In the coming weeks there will be a celebration of Jim’s life, for family and friends. Date to be announced later. Memorial contributions may be made to: Hospice Brazos Valley, 1048 North Jefferson, La Grange, Texas 78945 or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research, P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.