Therese Marie Foland

Therese Marie Foland, 75, of Berryton, passed away on September 29, 2024 at Saint Francis Hospital.  

She was born on January 11, 1949 to Eugene and Mabel (Pavlicek) Fortin in Olathe, Kansas. 

 On October 16, 1971 she married Eugene Foland in Leoville, Kansas. 

She worked as a Payroll Accountant for multiple accounting firms, including Norris&Norris, M&M, and Cummins&Coffman. Terri enjoyed her job as it gave her a chance to make many friends but also have great flexibility to be there for her children whenever there was a game, activity, or even the occasional illness that needed special attention. Terri often would be heard talking about how much she enjoyed her bosses and co-workers at each firm.

Terri was raised in the Catholic Church. Her faith was very important to her, a trait taught by her parents but self-nurtured and strengthened throughout her life. She was a member of St. Matthews Catholic Church where she baptized and raised all four of her boys. She was very active in the church, often serving as commentator and spending additional time in self prayer in attendance of their perpetual adoration of the Eucharist program 1 hour per week.

Terri raised her sons to be strong, self-sufficient, and hardworking. She always said she did this to make sure that her sons could feel pride that they earned all of their accomplishments and would be prepared to take on the challenges ahead. Of course, this wasn’t truly appreciated until they met the “real world,” where suddenly all of these lessons made perfect sense.

Terri enjoyed raising her children, but her love later in life was her grandchildren. She felt blessed to have 6 grandchildren, each one with their own unique personality and interests. Her face would light up every chance that she got to have a visit with her grandkids and did her best to stall as long as she could to avoid saying “goodbye” just to have as many extra moments as she could with them.

Almost as much as she loved her grandkids, Terri also loved dogs. From the early days caring for an abandoned chihuahua/terrier named Bambi, to a golden retriever named Bandit (he stole our hearts), to another shitzu/pomeranian named Sassy (she sassed Terri once), she loved each dog like a member of her family. The moment captured in this photo is one of her last moments getting to love on her niece’s dogs during what would be her final trip to see her sister’s family in Denver, CO. 

She is survived by her loving husband; Eugene, sons; Travis Foland, Brent (Megan) Foland, Mark (Rebecca) Foland, Adam Foland, brothers; Duane Fortin, Don Fortin, sisters; Pam (Craig) Johnson, Joyce Fortin, Carol Bollig, grandchildren; Josh, Madilyn, Avery, Aubrey, Jake and Peyton as well as numerous nieces, nephews family and friends. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother; Darrell Fortin, brother in-law; Duane Bollig and sister in-law; Pat Fortin. 

Visitation will be Wednesday October 16, 2024 from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Penwell Gabel Funeral Home Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave, Topeka, Kansas 66604.

Memorial Mass will be held at 10:00 am, Thursday October 17, 2024, at Saint Matthews Catholic Church 2700 SE Virginia, Topeka, Kansas 66605. 

Memorials are suggested to St. Matthews Catholic Church, 2700 SE Virginia, Topeka, Kansas 66605.

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