Gem Bowen (Cousin)

Entered January 7, 2017 from Mississauga

Cynthia and family,
Our hearts are saddened by your loss and our thoughts and prayers are truly with you.
When we think of George our first thought is of his every ready endearing smile.
Softly the leaves of memory fall,
Gently we gather and treasure them all,
Unseen, unheard you are always near,
So missed so loved, so very dear.

Wishing you peace to bring comfort, courage to face the days ahead and loving memories to forever hold in your heart.
Carl, Gem and family

Dunstan Morgan (Son in law)

Entered January 7, 2017 from Brampton

Mr. Foster was a quiet pleasant, patient, understanding, gentle, knowing, observant, peaceful soul. He saw everything but said very little. The sign of wisdom. He spoke in prose and parables and would end his thought by simply asking "you know what I mean?".

He was not fussy and needed very little. His love for his wife and family was visible and obvious.

Anyone who knew him was infected by his winning smile and pleasant disposition. Sooner or later you will get a shot of white rum and milk from him or his other favourite concoction (You know what I mean?).. He worked for Wray and Nephew at 16 years old and remained faithful to the brand always..

He astounded his doctors by how strong he was and how well he did and continued to do with his congestive heart failre. When he did visit his GP he would describe how he felt by saying "Bring your book."

Rest in Peace Dad.

Luisa Millimaci (Colleague to Jim Foster (son of the deceased))

Entered January 9, 2017 from Meadowvale Funeral Centre

Jim and Family,

My deepest and sincerest condolences for the loss of your beloved father. My thoughts and prayers are with you all as well as with his soul. May he rest in eternal peace surrounded by the love of his family in heaven. He will always be with you in spirit because his love will remain in your heart. Your guardian angel will now watch over you from heaven. May God bless you all and may he ease your pain during this very difficult time.

Luisa, Alessandro and Anastazja

nidal abbas (co-worker..)

Entered January 9, 2017

Our condolences…

Edward & Sonia Ingleton (Like a brother)

Entered January 9, 2017 from Angels, Saint Catherine

You may have a walk on earlier than me, but
I could never keep up. You have done well for all who you have touched. Behind you are strong shoulders, no need to worry. Sleep well you have earned your rest.

I was not sure we would be able to say anything but how can we not. . So on behalf of Ken’s daughter (my wife) Beverley and myself Dunstan Morgan and our children (Cynthia, Anthony, Alex) let me share briefly a few more things about ---
Ken /George/ Fed/ Mr. Foster/ Dad
My father passed away many many years ago. So for me for the last forty years Mr Foster has been Dad.
Dad not only because of my relationship with him; but Dad because I am married to his precious daughter who lovingly calls him Daddy.
One cannot help but be infected by the love not just my wife Beverley but all Ken’s children and grand children have for him.
That love for Kenneth George Foster was replicated by everybody he met and by everybody who got to know him.
The love for Dad/Ken/George/Fed was only outweighed by the love his Dear wife Cynthia has for him and that he had for her in return.
They met at 18 for Cynthia and 21 for Ken. And 64 years later we all got to see love in action.
To see them together is a work of art.
Cynthia would go Geroge!! as she would beckon to him to admonish him for something she thought he was doing wrong. He would not answer right away and kinda half pretend not to hear. Cynthia would go again George!! And he would say HEY.. you can’t see me?....I’m right here. She would say – you never hear me call you - and he would say – you finish?
It truly was a work of art. He mastered the art of listening but not necessarily reacting.
As they say every situation is neutral – it is how you react or respond to it that makes it good or bad.
Well Dad had a way of making everything good. If he disagreed with you – he would simply put his head down; shake it off and say AYE! That was it. He shook it off and then in comes that magnetic infectious smile – and suddenly all was well again.
Dad missed nothing. He saw everything; but he commented or said very little. He simply allowed you to be. You would have to look hard to catch that almost imperceptible look of dismay that he might give you and then on with his magnetic infectious smile again.
As my late mother used to say God gave us two ears and one mouth – so that we may listen more and speak less. Dad was from a wise generation and Dad was a wise man.
You ask him Dad would you like to go to England again and go visit where you were? And he would say – Nope! I’ve been there. – I have seen it!! I don’t have to see it again…You know what I mean?
SO --Not only was Dad wise, Dad was content. He needed and asked for very little. Dad do you want to go see the ball game/ What for he would say. “Dem make too much money man. Dem not getting my money. I tell you this --If you say come go I will go --but I don’t have to – you know what I mean?”

So you leave him at home – give him his bottle of Wray and Nephew and you will come back see him still standing with that magnetic infectious smile on his face.
We all know his mix. Milk and white rum.(It have to be Wray and Nephew)
You see when I met his daughter and before Bev and I got married we went to Florida and there I was infront of the duo from Morgans Pass - Ken and his brother Uncle Francis. They sat me down and put me to the test. First they poured the Wray and Nephew on a spoon and then light it up. The two of them smile and say you see i- it burn blue -- you know what that mean? That mean that’s the real thing. When it burn – it have to burn blue!
Then they put a bottle in front of me. And I had to drink it. Well needless to say they allowed me to marry Bev – so I think I passed the test.
When we left Florida, I left with my own bottle of medication. You know what I mean?. If you have ever been treated by Doctor Ken (Oh yes he was a Doctor also). Yep if you have ever been treated - he would have prescribed a shot of White Rum (Wray and Nephew) mixed with Sersy and Ganja and a secret ingredient. He would have that concoction soaking for days before it was ready to dispense.
On occasion when Dad (who never complained much) felt he needed to see the Doctor and he would see his GP (Dr Forrester). Dr Forrester would ask him what is wrong and Dad would look him right in the eye and say BRING YOU BOOK!! His text book on medical practice that is.
Well now that you are gone Dad We now know what that secret ingredient in your special concoction was….. It was LOVE. Sersy/ ganja soaked in White rum/and a healthy dose of LOVE…
Dad lived, he laughed, he loved and now he is gone to scout for new territory for his family – just as he did when he went to England in 1956..
May we all continue to live and laugh and love and SMILE as magnetically and as infectiously as Dad did.
REST IN PEACE KENNETH GEORGE FED FOSTER – DAD/Grandpa .
Dad had a way of saluting when he arrived or when he was leaving. He would say YES SIR!
So YES SIR Mr. Foster bye DAD--- and especially from Bev, Cynthia, Anthony, Alex – Bye Daddy….Bye Grandpa

On behalf of me and my two sisters and brother I offer this poem modified by me - original author unknown:

We Lost More Than a Dad
On Wednesday January 4th 2017

We lost more than just a Dad that day
We lost half of how we came to be
We lost we four our first love

We lost more than just a Dad that day
Our Mom lost her Soul Mate, Her other half
Our children lost their Grandpa
We lost our family’s foundation
We lost part glue that held us together

We lost more than just a Dad that day
We lost the Strongest man we ever knew
We lost the man we looked up to
We lost we four our Teacher of many things

We lost more than just a Dad that day
We four lost our Hero
We lost some of our Light
We lost part of our Heart
We lost part of our Soul

We lost more than just a Dad that day
We lost some of our Courage
We lost some of our Strength
We lost some of our will to fight back
We lost some of our will to carry on

But carry on we will as you taught us how to do
With strength and courage and much love…

We four lost more than a Dad
We are grateful for being your four…….
We lost more than just a Dad that day…..

We love you Daddy………..

Our grandfather was an exceptional man. With our grandmother, he forged a path from Jamaica, to the United Kingdom, to Canada, to the United States and back to Canada again in pursuit of a better life for him and his family. Those of us gathered here today, in many ways the fruits of their collective labour, are a testament to his success at this endeavour. We are living proof of the warm, rich, and wonderful life that our grandfather led. So, to celebrate him today, the grandchildren wanted to provide a snapshot of that warm, rich and wonderful life by sharing some of our favourite memories of our beloved grandfather:

• Memory number one: Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Florida had a pool in the backyard. When we would go to visit, he would always entice us to go dive to the bottom of the pool by throwing pocket change into the deep end. Once we were all underwater he would let his dentures slip out and float in the water, so when we surfaced we would all freak out while he laughed. (Glenn).

• Memory number two: During a family gathering, my cousins and I were playing dominos with grandpa. We all grew suspicious after he won a number of games consecutively and suspected that he was cheating. Eventually, one of us confronted him. He responded by silently standing up, picking up his drink, flashing us a smile and walking away (Claire).

• Memory number three: After I got my learner’s permit grandpa used to pick me up at school every day to teach me how to drive. One day, when we arrived home to an empty house, he took the opportunity to open up his trunk and pull out a 4 foot weed plant. I ask him where he got it from and he told me “not to worry about it.” He then made me tea and taught me how to make his medicine and told me the best parts of the plant aren't the buds. (Geoff)

• Memory number four: I always admired grandpa's sense of style. Especially that powder blue suit he brought out for special occasions. (Cynthia)

• Memory number five: We were at a family gathering where everyone started teasing me about my outfit ... my classic sweat pants and sports shirt. Grandpa was sitting silently on the couch listening and then said: "hey, leave the girl alone, she is beautiful just the way she is." Then he smiled at me. (Vanessa)

• Memory number seven: I couldn't see grandpa for my favourite memory of him. It was our family Christmas phone call to Florida. Grandpa had just accidentally blown up one of grandma's pyrex dishes. She shouted "George!" and I just heard him chuckle. (Anthony)

• Memory number eight: One evening when grandma and grandpa had made the trip up north for one of grandpa's summer swims and a family BBQ dinner, I remember being very excited because after dinner I was going to the movies with my friends by myself for the first time. However, unfortunately, I didn’t have any money to pay for the film. Later, after dinner, grandpa was doing a stroll around the backyard when he called me over, silently slipped me a 20, winked, and told me to have a good time. (Deanna)

• Memory number nine: In Florida grandpa used to raise goats. When we visited as kids we spent all day playing with the animals. One day, after dinner I noticed that one of the goats was missing from the pen. Grandpa looked at me, patted his belly, and asked "where's your friend?" (Jordan)

• Memory number six: When grandpa would stay with us in the summer he would make breakfast for grandma and I every morning. When I asked why, he said “Queens needed a good meal to start their day.” (Spencer)

• Memory number eight: When I was first learning to drive, every now and then when there would be good weather on a weekend, grandpa would hand me his car keys and say "you wanna drive"? So, we would go drive; sometimes for hours. I didn’t realize until many months later that his speedometer was in miles/hr instead of what I assumed was km/hr. Needless to say, I was usually trying to drive A LOT faster than I should have been. Grandpa never once yelled or got upset, and never even really seemed uncomfortable. Every time I would push the car to 80+ mph, he would just calmly tell me “eh slow down.” But that was grandpa. He was always that at ease and calm spirit. That’s how I remember him. (Alex)

These moments provide only a glimpse of the kind, often mischievous, and funny man our grandpa was. We love him and miss him.

I am number two. So affectionately named by my Dad, as we three girls gave him grief for mixing up our names.

We loved my Dad.

You all by your presence here, loved my Dad.

A man of few words but immeasurable influence. Quietly doing and being there for everyone.

It is difficult to contemplate going on without his steadying hand, but we will because he taught us well.

A funny story about my Dad. Speaking with his strong Jamaican accent he met my husband (to be) for the first time he asked "when will we be seeing you again?" My husband answered, "the weather is fine". My Dad looked at me, questioning the brain power of my young man!
More seriously, he and I were sitting on the swing in my back yard. And he said you know, your mom can be "miserable " sometimes, but I don't know what I would ever do without her.

My Dad always said if you keep on living you may catch up with him.
So on behalf of all of us Dad, and borrowing from your wedding day groom's speech....Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.