At his funeral, Foley's casket was coated with duct tape by his friends. Townes Van Zandt told a story where he and his musicians went to Foley's grave to dig up his body because they wanted the pawn ticket that Foley had for Van Zandt's guitar.

Toward the end of his life, Foley befriended an older man named Concho January. Foley had multiple at times violent scuffles with Concho's son, Carey, over what Foley perceived to be an abusive father-son relationship. It came to a head when Carey shot and killed Foley at Concho's home in South Austin.