Dr. Kathryn M. Sexton Foell

June 30, 1948-June 3, 2018

Kathryn M. Sexton Foell, M.D.

Kathy passed away at home on June 3rd after a relentless battle against ALS.

Kathy was born on June 30, 1948 in Waverly Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa and then continued her education at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, specializing in pediatrics. She relocated to the Bay Area for a Residency at Oakland Children’s Hospital and then began practicing at the Ross Valley Medical Clinic in 1976. She settled in Fairfax in 1973 and, in 1980, married her beloved husband, Dirk Foell. She opened her own practice in Greenbrae in 1989.

Being a pediatrician was not work to her. She embraced her young patients and their families far beyond the boundaries of her office. Wherever she was, whether at the farmer’s market, a restaurant, the movies or even in Mexico, she delighted in unexpected encounters with them. The walls of her waiting room were covered in pictures of the children whom she had treated over her 38 years of practice. But her own family was always the primary focus of her life. Time with Dirk and the kids on cruises, attending family reunions in Wisconsin, or just hanging out at home, watching the Warriors or the Giants, was her greatest joy.

With the diagnosis of ALS in 2014, Kathy was forced to retire, but she, Dirk and their family continued to make every moment count. Although not able to ski moguls or hike the hills of Fairfax with her intrepid canine companion, Stella, Kathy pursued her love of cooking for and entertaining family and friends, serving her home grown tomatoes, which she had lovingly tended. The family continued the tradition of annual summer vacations at Capitola, where friends gathered to enjoy Kathy’s warmth and hospitality. When trips to the opera or the symphony became too difficult, she surrounded herself with music supplied by KFDC. In her final days, when family and friends arrived, laughter and love filled the house, a legacy of Kathy’s life.

In addition to her husband, Kathy is survived by her children Jason, Judd, Nick, and Emily (Matt), her grandchildren Sarah, JJ, Jessie, Grace, JR and Josie, her sister Colette ( Paul) and brother Doug ( Andrea) her sister-in-law Chris ( Tony) and many extended family members and friends.

The family would like to thank Kathy’s very special caregivers Terre, Whilma, Jasmine, and JP and to thank the staffs of Hospice by the Bay, Marin General Hospital, and the ALS Center at UCSF for their compassionate and constant care.

Please no flowers but donations in Kathy’s name may be made to Hospice by the Bay or Oakland Children’s Hospital.

Please access the following for information about the memorial:

bit.ly/kathyfoellmemorial