By Sophie Carson – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – When Judge Christopher Foley made official the last adoption of his career Friday, he threw his arms in the air and cheered with the little boy he’d invited to sit on the bench.
Foley’s family, filling the courtroom gallery, applauded too.
A longtime institution of Children’s Court, the judge known for his joyful approach and care for the well-being of Milwaukee County’s kids is retiring at 70 having presided over about 4,000 adoptions. He united families, fiercely advocated for children’s best interests and in some cases, welcomed them into his own family.
In 2014, in the letter asking for someone to adopt the 12-year-old boy, he wrote, “Adoptions are my thing. If I retire and die the ‘adoption judge,’ I think I will have fulfilled God’s plan for me.”