Mike Foley

Michael (Mike) Harry Foley, 83, of Hall, Montana, passed away in Missoula, Montana, on April 25, 2025. He passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer. His family and friends will forever cherish the memories made together.

Mike was born in San Francisco, California, on September 3, 1941. The second child of Harry and Grace Foley (nee Buck). He grew up in Menlo Park and Los Altos, CA, with his siblings Pete, Sylvia, and Phil. As a young man, he enjoyed swimming, water skiing, biking, and working as a caddy. He loved traveling with his family to Mexico and visiting relatives in Montana. After graduating from St. Francis High School in 1959, he joined the Navy and served as a cook on a Destroyer Escort ship for 3 years, traveling to Japan and who knows where else! After the Navy, Mike went to Chef school in San Francisco, which allowed him to work in Germany. He has fond memories of that time traveling in Europe, including with his Dad for several weeks in a new Porsche. After Europe, he went to work as a Chef in Houston, Texas.

In his twenties, he would visit his great aunt Myrtle in Idaho Falls, where he met Carol Vilhauer, a beautician. It took a lot of visits, but they were married on November 29, 1968. Carol and Mike settled in Menlo Park, CA. In his early years there, he worked as a chef at a popular French restaurant and later as a machinist. In 1971, their daughter Katherine was born, and in 1973, their son Michael was born. In 1975, they moved to Montana, to the 3-mile area near Stevensville. Mike started his own excavating business, and they built a new house. In 1976, their third child, Richard(Rich), was born and brought to that new home. Carol helped with the business, and they enjoyed raising their 3 children in the rural area. With a lack of local work and more distant jobs taking Mike further away from home, they chose to move to Hall, MT in 1983, where they had visited Mike’s cousin's ranch. They bought the old Cenex and turned it into Foley’s Quality Service and Supply. Mike was a jack-of-all-trades. Providing many parts, supplies & services to locals & travelers alike. Mike filled many roles as a machinist, welder, mechanic, and problem solver. Trying to make the most of family time on Sundays, being their only day off, he enjoyed family drives, trap shooting, family ski days, and working on his many hobbies, including building a kit airplane.

After about 2 years of remodeling an old house in Hall, Mike and Carol moved into it in 2001. Mike later built his shop, welding all the steel trusses himself. The shop provided a place to finish his airplane and work on his other hobbies. They started slowly retiring from the store around 2014 when Mike and Katherine updated the building to a Pottery shop and studio. Yes, Mike taught himself to throw pots, with a little help from Katherine. They closed the shop in 2019, when Mike wanted to spend the winter in the warmth of Brownsville, Texas.

Mike loved to travel. He and Carol took many trips together around the U.S. to visit friends, family, and sightsee. They went to New Zealand multiple times to see Michael and his family, visiting Hawaii on one of their trips. Sometimes this travel pushed Carol out of her comfort zone. During the last few years of retirement, Mike, with the help of Carol, finished the airplane, but because of his health, he was unable to get his pilot's license. Sadly, he was never able to fly the airplane. His health also kept him from fulfilling his dream of returning to Europe and Hawaii.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Edward Foley and Grace Louise Foley; his Brother James Peter Foley; and Son-in-law Clay Holland. Many sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Survivors, who will dearly miss him, include his wife Carol Foley; daughter Katherine Foley, her step-son Ryan Holland; son Michael (Andrea) Foley, granddaughter Maeve; son Richard (Nikki Dixon) Foley, granddaughters Millie and Hattie; siblings Sylvia Nobleman and Phil (Dona) Foley; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends near & far.

Services will be held at Garden City Funeral Home on May 30th, 2025, at 3:30 PM, reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Drummond Community Library and the Hall Elementary School.