Marshall Eugene Foster

Marshall was 79 years old when he transitioned into eternity after battling various illnesses, some for many years. Born and raised near Detroit, MI, he was the son of Frank and Vivian Foster and the brother of JoAnn, Richard, and Jimmy, all of whom predeceased him.

He received his elementary education in the local public school system and his secondary education at Adelphian Academy, a boarding school in Holly, MI. Following high school, he attended Wayne State University, where he studied piano and organ. He later attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI, from which he graduated with a degree in Dietetics. He received advanced training and earned his certification as a Registered Dietician from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA.

Marshall began his dietetics career at Hinsdale Sanitarium and Hospital near Chicago, IL. In 1976, he answered a call to be a therapeutic dietician at the Bangkok, Thailand Adventist Hospital, where he served for three years. In 1980, he returned to the United States and accepted a position as the Director of Food Services at the Parkview Memorial Hospital in Brunswick, ME. Two years later he moved to Nashville, where he was a dietician for the remainder of his working life at the TN Christian Medical Center, now Tristar Skyline Madison, retiring in 2005.

During his retirement years, Marshall developed a passion for cooking, sewing, and quilting. He authored a cookbook entitled The Kitchen at 1214 Sunnymeade, featuring mostly recipes of his companion of many years, Gilbert Pearson. Marshall was very proud of this book and gave many of them to friends. He loved embroidering sheets and pillow-cases and preparing holiday ornaments, especially for Halloween and Christmas. Before his health began to decline, he traveled to Ireland, central and eastern Europe, and Alaska.

By his own admission, confirmed by his cousin Dennis Steele, Marshall was an accomplished organist in his younger years and studied with some of the best teachers in the Detroit area. He and Gilbert were members of the American Guild of Organists and crisscrossed the country attending numerous conventions of the Organ Historical Society.

Marshall will be remembered for his love of classical (especially sacred) music, his love of animals, his flair for the dramatic, his acerbic wit, and above all for his kindness to those in need. He loved engaging in conversations and sharing a good joke – again, and again, and again…

He was truly a unique man who will be greatly missed by those who knew him best.

A memorial service acknowledging Marshall’s love of sacred music and witnessing the Resurrection will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 24, 2018, at the First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, 4815 Franklin Rd.

In lieu of flowers, contributions are encouraged in his honor to Metro Nashville Animal Control, the Nashville Humane Association, or the charity of one’s choice.