LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Ed Foley, the father of disgraced Rep. Mark Foley, died yesterday at the age of 85, just weeks after his son resigned from the U.S. House after disclosures of sexually charged conversations he had with congressional pages.

Ed Foley, who was a teacher and high-school principal during his life, reportedly had been ill from cancer since 2003.

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"Until his health failed him, Mr. Foley frequently campaigned for his son, Mark, in races including Lake Worth City Commission, the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives," reports the Palm Beach Post. "His son abandoned a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2003 saying the family needed to rally around his father who been diagnosed with cancer."

Mr. Foley is survived by his wife, Frances, and their five children, Donna, Mark, Cathleen, Eddie and Elizabeth.

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