Point Reyes Light - November 6, 2003
Monica Foster, 97, a Point Reyes activist
By Larken Bradley
Monica Foster, 97, a longtime Point Reyes Station resident and community activist, died Thursday, Oct. 30, of pulmonary heart failure, in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she had lived for just over a year.
Along with her husband Dan Foster, who died in September, 2002, at age 90, Mrs. Foster was a co-founder and original board member for Walnut Place, Point Reyes Station’s affordable senior housing.
A progressive liberal
A progressive liberal, she was a longtime member of the League of Women Voters. She assumed leadership positions wherever she lived, serving on committees statewide. In West Marin she and her husband opened their home for the organization’s meetings.
In 1992 the Point Reyes Business Association honored the Fosters for their community service by naming them Distinguished Citizens of the Year.
A passion for politics ran through her blood. A maternal uncle was a senator in West Virginia, where Mary Monica Keyser was born on May 23, 1906, in Belington, a small town in which her father ran the local hardware store.
She studied at Davis & Elkins College and transferred to what is now Chatham University in Pittsburgh, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She was a high school teacher for two years before moving to Philadelphia, where, during the Depression, she became a social worker with the Department of Public Assistance, and where she met her future husband who sat next to her on the job.
After serving in the US Navy during World War II, Mr. Foster spent his career as an investigator with the Department of Labor, which had the family moving to several Pennsylvania cities. While living in Lancaster, Mrs. Foster served as president of the League of Women Voters.
They moved to San Rafael in 1972 after Mr. Foster’s retirement. Two years later they bought their home on the levee road in Point Reyes Station.
Best years of their lives
Notwithstanding the occasional flooding they endured when Papermill Creek overflowed, "The years in West Marin were the best years of their lives," said their daughter, Julia Nazimov.
Mrs. Foster was also active in the Inverness Garden Club and the Friends of the Marin County Library.
"She was an iron lady in a lot of ways," reflected former neighbor Jack Salter, now of Santa Rosa. "She was sensitive and stuck to her convictions."
Added Salter, "any time a Republican got elected to the presidency, she cried afterwards."
Well-read and up on current events, "she was a delightful conversationalist," recalled neighbor Barney Clark.
A good wit
In an interview with The Light on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary, the Fosters stressed the importance of sharing common interests with one’s spouse. When asked whether candlelit dinners, champagne toasts, and beach walks added spice to their successful union, Mrs. Foster quipped, "We still use candles, but that’s about as far as we get."
Noted neighbor Barney Clark, "she was a pretty funny girl sometimes."
Because of declining health the couple moved to assisted living housing in their daughter’s hometown in the summer of 2002. Always a youthful dresser, Mrs. Foster stood out in the retirement community in a trademark red-felt brimmed hat.
Mrs. Foster is survived by her daughter, Julia Nazimov of Reading, Pennsylvania; son, Anthony Foster of Bloomington, Minnesota; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother.
A memorial service for both Mr. and Mrs. Foster will be held in West Marin at a date to be announced.
The family has suggested that any memorial contributions be made to the Inverness Garden Club or to the League of Women Voters of West Marin.