John Foiles

John Foiles, of Clark SD, formerly of Logan Township, passed away on the evening of November 6, 2025 at the age of 101 years and four months. Visitation will be Thursday, November 13th 5-7pm at Furness Funeral Home, Clark and a Celebration of Life will be held Friday, November 14th,10:30am at the Clark United Methodist Church, the Reverand Kim Hastings officiating.

John Oscar Foiles was born on July 1, 1924, on the family farm in Logan Township, south of Raymond SD, the 6th child born to J. Oscar and Jennie (Stenning) Foiles. He grew up attending the Logan Methodist Church and graduated from the Logan Consolidated School in 1942. He later attended South Dakota State University.

During WWII, John was deferred by the Army to assist on the family farm. Once the war was over, he served 18 months in post-war Japan and the Philippines as well as pre-conflict Korea as a truck driver. Upon his discharge, he returned to farming with his father and brother Raymond.

On December 1, 1960 John was united in marriage to Alvira Bleeker at the First Baptist Church in Worthington MN. The couple made their home on a farm in Logan Township just one mile west of the farm John grew up on. To their union was born a daughter, Norma and son Dale. John and Alvira continued to live on this farm for the next 50+ years, well into retirement as Dale took over the farming operation. They moved to Stevens Point WI in 2010, living near Norma. After Alvira’s death in 2018, John moved back to South Dakota and became a resident at the Faye Wookey Assisted Living Center in Clark. He resided there until March of 2025, when he moved to Avantara Clark.

John was always proud of his family’s long history in the Logan community and told stories of his Swedish maternal grandfather who came as a homesteader and eventually served in the SD State Legislature; and his father who came to South Dakota on a railroad construction crew, but stayed when he fell in love with the homesteader’s daughter.

When asked about hobbies, John would reply with “Well, I’m a farmer…” as if those two things were mutually exclusive. However, he always enjoyed music and sang tenor for many years in the “Logan Quartet” with his brothers Raymond & Delmar and Bryl Logan. He never missed his kid’s concerts, even when it meant traveling to Minnesota when Norma was in college choir. He was a life-long member of the Methodist Church and served on various committees and projects over the years. He served for (4?) decades as Secretary of the Logan Township Board. And he and Alvira were deeply involved in Farm Bureau and American Cancer Society over the years.

His greatest joy came from his family. As a ‘confirmed bachelor’ for many years, he relished his role as Uncle John to his older siblings’ children. Later he would entertain his grandchildren with tractor rides, family stories and singing. (Every toddler heard ‘How Much is that Doggie in the Window’ – both verses!)

Preceding him in death were his parents, his wife Alvira, siblings Verna Foiles, Mabel (Marvin) Logan and son Larry, Delmar (Hazel) Foiles and son Darrel (Rita), Alice (Curtis) Yates and their children Ron & Linda, Raymond (Carol) Foiles and their daughter Laura Foiles Hosman.

Grateful for having shared his life are his children Norma (Lloyd) Roach of Stevens Point WI and Dale Foiles of Raymond SD, six grandchildren: Laura (Mike Thompson), Katherine, Robert (Danielle), Jacob (Whitney), and Emily Foiles and Daniel Roach, great-grandchildren Aurora and Thomas Foiles and Aiden Thompson along with numerous nieces and nephews. He is survived by one brother-in-law, Melvyn (Jan) Bleeker of Minneapolis MN.

The family would like to acknowledge the gracious care and support John received while a resident at both Wookey’s ALC and Avantara Clark. He was always happy as long as he had a seat by a window to see outside and ‘the food was good’. Thank you to everyone who made his last years so enjoyable.

Pallbearers will be grandsons Robert & Jacob Foiles, Daniel Roach, and neighbors Wayne Schlegel, Jim Kopriva and Francis Haas. Honorary pallbearers include Gene Bethke and granddaughters Laura, Katherine & Emily Foiles.

Memorials in John’s memory may be directed to the American Cancer Society or the United Methodist Church of Clark.