Robert Ernest Foster

Robert E. Foster of Sandy Springs, born April 3, 1917, in McGregor, Iowa, died November 22, 2016, in Brighton Gardens of Dunwoody. He is survived by his son David of Winnetka, Illinois; his daughter Carolyn Durham of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; his brother Calvin of Ankey, Iowa; his grandson Peter; his granddaughter Megan; and six great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by Ardath Holbert, his wife of 65 years. Bob Foster grew up on a farm in McGregor during the depression. He attended high school and college in McGregor and Cedar Rapids. During WWII he served as an infantry company commander in General Patton’s 3rd Army. He was awarded the bronze star for bravery and the purple heart for the shrapnel wound from German artillery during fighting in the Siegried Line. After the war he returned to his civilian occupation with the F. W. Woolworth Co. from which he retired in 1983 after 44 years. He was active in the Lions and Optimist service clubs. He taught Sunday school and served as an elder on the board of the Congregational church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Presbyterian church in Morristown, New Jersey, and Sandy Springs. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, and Shrine. After cremation, his ashes will be interned at the Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.