Pat "Irish" Fogarty

Pat "Irish" Fogarty, age 70, of New Hampton, formerly of Elma, IA, died Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at his home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 1, 2019, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Elma, with Rev. Jerry Kopacek celebrating the Mass. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Elma with Ron Tierney, Dan McGrane, Sean Brophy, Merle Havlik, Dennis Stevenson, Jack Hastings, Dale Laue and Steve Smith serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are Irish’s grandchildren, Drew Dirksen, Alexis Dirksen, Abby Dirksen, Shelby Rapenske, Brady Rapenske, Baylee Rapenske, Andi Rapenske, Elizabeth Rapenske, Ethan Rapenske, Levi Pontenberg, Dylan Houser and Dakota Houser. Friends may greet the family 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2019, at the Elma Memorial Hall where there will be a 4:00 p.m. Parish Scripture Service. Visitation continues an hour prior to the Mass at the church on Saturday. Thomas Patrick Fogarty was born December 14, 1948, in Elma, IA, the son of Patrick and Edna (Mahoney) Fogarty. He received his education in Elma where he graduated from Elma High School in 1967. Upon graduation, Pat enlisted into the United States Army. During his time in the service, he was stationed in San Francisco. He returned home to Elma where he was reacquainted with Linda Laue. The couple was married on May 3, 1975, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Elma. The couple lived near Elma and together raised their six children. Pat began his career working at Sara Lee in New Hampton where he worked in the maintenance department. Pat spent over 25 years working for the company before its closing in 2000. He then transitioned to Tri-Mark and spent several years working there until his retirement. Irish enjoyed anything with a motor and that would go fast, leading to his love of muscle cars, NASCAR, attending cars shows and tractor pulls. Irish liked to collect memorabilia relating to NASCAR and muscle cars and had acquired a vast collection. In his youth he had a 1969 Chevelle that was labeled the fastest car in Elma. Irish was very meticulous with his acreage and spent many hours mowing and keeping up the property so it met his standards. Pat was a euchre player and would catch a card game at Josies whenever he could make it. Pat was great with crossword puzzles and would always seem to complete them with no problem. Pat was an avid Dallas Cowboys and Iowa Hawkeyes fan. He liked to listen to old country music and polka music. He often took an occasional trip to the casino for an evening. Pat is survived by five children, Tony Rapenske of New Hampton, IA, Randy Rapenske of New Hampton, IA, Angie Fogarty of New Hampton, IA, P.J. Fogarty of Altoona, IA and Amy (Jessie Houser) of New Hampton, IA; grandchildren, Drew, Alexis and Abby Dirksen, Shelby, Brady, Baylee, Andi, Elizabeth and Ethan Rapenske, Levi Pontenberg, Dylan and Dakota Houser. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Linda in 1995; daughter, Brenda Rapenske; granddaughter, Breylynn Fogarty.