Eddie Foster

Eddie Dean Foster

Eddie Dean Foster, age 94, died peacefully Sunday afternoon, January 3, 2016, at Medical Center Hospital. Eddie, known to older family members as "Eddie Dean" or "Dean," and to later friends and family as "Ed" or "E.D.," was born July 18, 1921, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Eva Susan Miller and Dibrell Foster as the first of their three children.

Eddie's father owned and operated an independent oil business in Oklahoma City, but sold his business and purchased a farm north of Gentry, Arkansas, moving his family there in 1936. Eddie attended Moore High School in Oklahoma but graduated from Gentry High School in 1939. He then attended John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, for two years before moving to Los Angeles, California, to work for Lockheed Aircraft Company doing work in design and drafting on the Lockheed Constellation Aircraft. On January 4, 1942, Eddie was joined by his high school sweetheart, Marie Babcock, and they traveled to Yuma, Arizona, to be married. Their 68 years of marriage were blessed with three children: Donald Ray, Joyce Ann, and Jerry Dean.

In 1944 Eddie was called to serve his country in the U.S. Navy where he trained to be a Navy pilot during WWII. Following his discharge, he attended Cal-Poly University San Luis Obispo for one semester before returning to John Brown University where he completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering. Eddie coached high school sports for Gentry and Decatur, both in Arkansas, before moving to Huntsville, Arkansas, where he taught mathematics and coached sports, winning the Arkansas AAU State Championship in 1950 with his women's basketball team, the first state championship in athletics ever won by the Huntsville school. Many years later, Eddie was inducted into the Huntsville High School's Hall of Fame. In 1951 he moved his family to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, securing employment with Phillips Petroleum Company as a mechanical engineer. He transferred to Odessa in 1959, retiring from Phillips Pipeline in 1982 following thirty-one years of service.

One of Eddie's most favorite pastimes was to play golf - he had fun golfing even on a bad day. He also enjoyed coaching Little League Baseball with his two sons and participated with them in Boy Scouts of America. Eddie was always a teacher at heart. As a Christian and member of the Sherwood Church of Christ, he served as a deacon and an elder, but what he enjoyed doing the most was teaching Bible classes. He was always willing to help where he was needed, which included occasionally preaching for African-American congregations when they asked for his service, and many hours of pastoral counseling with anyone who requested his assistance. He continued to receive calls for his advice even after he resigned from being an elder due to health reasons. His service extended also to his family as he cared for his wife Marie for her 17-year battle with three kinds of cancer. He loved the Lord - he read his Bible every day and never missed a church service for as long as he was physically able to do so. Eddie was not a quitter - Dr. John Doran called him the "Energizer Bunny" because he kept going and going and going, even under the tremendous stress of his own personal medical issues.

As a husband and father, Eddie's vacation time included numerous fun camping trips to National Parks, cross-country travel to the west coast to visit family, trips to Disneyland, trips to Candlestick Park to see the Giants play baseball, and ample opportunity for the family to swim in the Pacific. Even though his grandchildren lived far away, he included them in his life as much as possible.

Eddie is survived by his brother, James Albert Foster and wife Lenore of Everett, WA; his three children, Donald Ray Foster of Odessa; Ann Foster Nichols and husband Penney of Odessa; and Jerry Dean Foster and wife Danice of Bartlesville, OK. In addition, he is survived by seven grandchildren: Andria Foster Holloway and husband Greg of Fayetteville, TX; Stanton Foster of Sherman; Edette Nichols of Pasadena, CA; Deana Nichols of Bloomington, IN; Daniella (Dee Dee) Powers and husband Mike of Bartlesville, OK; Angela Rader and husband Jay of Bartlesville, OK; and Regina Gonzales and husband Joe of San Antonio; and eight great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Eddie is preceded in death by his mother and father, Eva Susan Miller and Dibrell Foster, his wife, Marie Babcock Foster and his sister, Alliene Marie Ross.

Visitation for family and friends will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, January 7, 2016, at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life will be held at Sherwood Church of Christ, 1:00 p.m., Friday, January 8, 2016, with Lynn Money officiating. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Odessa Christian School, the American Cancer Society, or Lubbock Christian University.

Visitation

Visitation

Sunset Funeral Home
6801 E. Business 20
Odessa, TX  79762
Thursday, January 7, 2016
6:00-8:00 pm

Service

Funeral Service

Sherwood Church of Christ
4900 N. Dixie
Odessa, TX  79761
Friday, January 8, 2016
1:00 pm

Cemetery

Sunset Memorial Gardens
6801 E. Business 20
Odessa, TX  79762