Siena Spotlight - Nancy Foley

Nancy Foley was born in April of 1933 in Chicago to Angelo and Carmella Fuscone and has 5 siblings: Anna, Carol, Frances, Anthony an d Angelo.  Nancy is a 1951 graduate of Wells High School in Chicago.  A lifelong Catholic, she was united in marriage in 1955 to Thomas Foley in Chicago.  Together they raised six children, Cathy, Linda, Thomas, Nancy, Karen and John.  She has 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.  Nancy worked at Boylan Catholic High School for 46 years.  She has many life memories from her travels to Italy, Spain, Switzerland, London, North Africa and Hawaii as well as events from her children and grandchildren’s lives such as their births, graduations and marriages.

Nancy moved to Siena on Brendenwood on Oct. 7, 2023. Her daughters lovingly described her as “a stubborn old Italian woman” on their first tour of Siena in July 2023 and prepared themselves for the conversation with her about moving. When that conversation happened, Nancy was receptive to the tour after a recent fall in her home.  Nancy’s first tour of Siena was with her daughters Cathy and Linda on July 27, 2023.  She said she knew little about Siena and did not know anyone that lived here.  When they pulled into the parking lot for the tour, she was impressed with the building and the grounds.  Upon entering the building, she was relieved that the building was nothing like the nursing home her grandmother lived in back in  Chicago when she was young.  During the tour she looked at the community areas and looked at 3 apartments of interest.  Questions were asked that developed into discussion about the application process and move-in timeframes.   More time was spent in that apartment talking about the transition into Siena - selling her home, downsizing possessions and arranging movers.  

At the end of the tour, Nancy ran into a friend she used to work with who lives at Siena and they had a brief conversation that made her comfortable with her decision to make Siena on Brendenwood her home.  Four days later her daughters dropped off the application and three days after application, Nancy made a commitment to take the apartment!  Nancy has a strong faith and gratitude for all her blessings in life.  She spends much of her time in her apartment and likes to cook, surf the web on her tablet or visit with her sister, Carol who has also recently moved to Siena.