Mary Jane Foeller (Stevens)

Mary Jane (Stevens) Foeller passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family in Post Falls on Oct. 24, 2022. The day before her 93rd birthday.

She was born on Oct. 25, 1929, in Milwaukee, Wis., to Dutch immigrants William H. Stevens and Anna (Cup) Stevens. She was the youngest and last surviving of their three children.

Mary grew up in Thiensville, Wis., and as a young girl, she enjoyed ice skating at the pond close to her home with her girlfriends. She graduated from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee with a bachelor's degree in art education.

While home in the summer from college, Mary worked at her parent’s bar. It's there she met and fell in love with the love of her life, Paul F. Foeller. They married Sept. 13, 1952, and had nine children together, fulfilling Mary's dream of having a large family, like the one her husband, Paul, grew up in.

Mary and Paul eventually settled in Rathdrum, Idaho, to raise their family after living in Green Bay, Wis., and Phoenix, Ariz. Mary had a deep devotion to her faith, attending daily Mass whenever possible, and continuously praying for decades on her beautiful blue rosary. She loved to tell how the Rosary Novena she learned from her college roommate won her our dad’s heart.

She put her art degree to work with paintings displayed at local art shows and painting statues and murals for every church she attended. To this day, you can find her work displayed in local businesses in the Post Falls area. Her creative abilities were used in many aspects of her life, from making flower arrangements, baking, decorating for parties, and making costumes from scratch. She loved gardening, growing both vegetables and flowers. Her favorite flowers were tulips as they reminded her of her mother, who also grew tulips. The whole family also enjoyed mom's homemade bread. It was such a treat and so very delicious to get a piece of it smothered in butter while still warm. She especially loved her Christmas village display and displayed it all year long to enjoy. Such wonderful memories.

Mary leaves behind a legacy that will go unmatched in her nine children — Barb (Pat) McDonald of Post Falls; Mary Lou of Spring Hill, Fla.; Paul G. Foeller of Post Falls; Joe (Michelle) Foeller of Post Falls; Michele (Len) Daniel of Chattaroy; Patty (Mike) Robb of Spokane Valley; Mary Beth (Brett) Schexnider of Spokane Valley; Tim (Carol) Foeller of Spokane Valley; and Pete (April) Foeller of Oakland; 24 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and husband, Paul, whom she missed terribly since his passing in July 2016.

In the years since, Mary continued to build on the life she and Paul created, spending time with her children, her love of the Green Bay Packers, long relaxing floats on the Coeur d'Alene River, karaoke (Que sera sera), Tuesday trivia and of course her little buddy Lambeau was always in tow for the fun. It also goes without mentioning she loved a good bull blaster with her family.

A rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, at English Funeral Chapel, 1700 N. Spokane St., Post Falls. The Funeral Mass will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at St Joan of Arc, 4772 E. Poleline Ave., Post Falls; followed immediately by the burial at Evergreen Cemetery, 2834 N. Spokane St., Post Falls.