August 11, 1926 – April 22, 2017
At 5:15am on Earth Day this traveller began his next great adventure.
The son of Francis William (Bill) Foster and Ora May Lovelace, Bill grew up in Winnipeg and attended Kelvin High and the University of Manitoba. Bill began his career with the family business in Montreal, The Watson Foster Wallpaper Company where he worked alongside its President, his beloved uncle, H. Stuart Foster. He later found a job in management at Sears Canada in Burnaby, and British Columbia remained his home thereafter. He retired to the South Surrey Peninsula in 1986.
Billy was a keen outdoorsman and sports enthusiast who thought nothing of running a hard 10K race in the morning and following it up with a brisk 18 holes of golf in the afternoon. The year he turned 70 he won the first 9 road races he entered. As a young man, he and his father once played 108 holes of golf in one day. They began before dawn and ended in deep twilight. No carts allowed! Paradise for Bill was a
10-day backpacking trip through the Olympic National Park. Science and engineering fascinated him; Einstein was his hero. Bill was also an avid photographer and if something needed building, he could build it. Bill and Susan loved to travel both around North America in their camper and around the world.
Predeceased by his eldest sister Frances Harris, he is survived by his wife Susan Foster of White Rock, his sister Betty Johannsson of West Vancouver, his children Stuart Foster (Diane) of Toronto, Meg Mulligan (Terry) of Nanoose Bay, Douglas Foster (Lorena) of Bellingham, WA, eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease but he enjoyed every moment possible with the help of the wonderful and devoted staff of Pansy Lane at Czorny Alzheimer’s Centre in Surrey, BC where he had been a resident since October 2014. It is impossible to name them all but they know who they are and the tremendous debt of gratitude the family owes them. For the last years of his life Billy had three adoring companions who catered to his every need and treated him with love and dignity always; saints if there ever were any, Courttney Richardson, Carmen Tessier and Mary McGillis. And he will be missed more than words can say by his soul mate for 42 years, forever joined at the hip, his life partner, Susan Foster.
A memorial service will be held at Holy Trinity Church, 15115 Roper Avenue, White Rock, on Friday, May 12th at 2pm. Reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada or the Czorny Alzheimer’s Centre through the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation.
When you have reached the mountaintop, then shall you begin to climb
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
~Kahlil Gibran