Joanne Marie Foley, 82, of Fayston, Vermont, passed away at her home of 40 years on March 14, 2016.
She was born on August 23, 1933, in Orange, New Jersey, and was the only daughter of Keith Kelsey and Ann M. De Coster. She was preceded in death by four children, Mary Lenore Fugee, William (Kim) Fugee, Catherine (Foley) DeSorbo and Joanne (Foley) Kellermeyer.
Joanne first discovered and fell in love with The Valley in the early 1970s while bringing her family up to ski at Mad River Glen as a member of the Montclair Ski Club. It didn’t take long for her to realize that this was where she wanted to live and bought a house below the former Glen Ellen ski area in 1976. She truly loved skiing at Mad River Glen and skied there until a shoulder injury prevented her from skiing.
As a single mother of five children, life was hard for Joanne, but she always seemed to find time for her kids’ activities, sports and vacations and she never missed a birthday. While in her 30s she decided to take her kids on a camping trip across the country with her good friend Betsy and packed up the car and headed out to California. She really wanted to make sure that her kids saw the beauty of this great country.
She truly loved the outdoors and was a longtime member of the Sierra Club.
While living in Parsippany, New Jersey, before she moved to Vermont, she was the County Committee Woman of Parsippany Troy Hills for many years and always enjoyed politics.
Over the years life didn’t get any easier for Joanne while living in Vermont as she lost four of her children due to health-related issues which seemed to slowly take its toll on her health. But she still always somehow took care of her large house until her death.
She is survived by her son, Keith (Terry) Fugee of Poulsbo, Washington; grandkids, Katie Marie Fugee, Keith Sean Kellermeyer, Kaitlyn Rae Kellermeyer and Kristopher William Kellermeyer; and great- granddaughter, Krysta Lynn Duzenski.
Joanne’s ashes will be scattered throughout Vermont and the Mad River Valley that she loved so much and would be very happy if you take care of this world for everyone else.
— I love you and will forever miss you, Mom. Keith Fugee
