Jeannie Lynn Foster

Jeannie Lynn Foster (née Steele), age 73, died suddenly following a cerebral hemorrhage on January 28, 2021 in Mobile, Alabama. She leaves behind her adoring husband of 52 years, David Foster; three sons, Joshua (Hope) Foster, Jason (Erin DeCaprio) Foster, and Christopher (Erin) Foster; four grandchildren, Lilli McDermott, Mathew Foster, Colin Foster, and Kyle Foster; and a brother, Michael (Tammy) Steele. She joined her fourth son, Mathew Foster, who passed away in 2005, as well as her twin sister, Jeri Ann Van Enige, parents, grandparents, and many beloved family and friends.

Jeannie was born in Denver, Colorado, to Eugene and Geraldine (née Carlin) Steele on February 21, 1947. She spent most of her youth in the Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona, areas. Jeannie and her identical twin sister and best friend, Jeri Ann, were far from identical when it came to their personalities. Jeri Ann was a romantic, whereas Jeannie was a tomboy and preferred riding her bike in the mud and getting dirty. She volunteered as a candy striper at Arizona State Hospital, which is where she met her future husband, David. David worked as an orderly in the hospital and was the only man on the unit. Eager to set him up, the nurses on the unit introduced him to Jeannie. After a long and sometimes long-distance courtship—Jeannie lived in Saudi Arabia for a time when her father took the family there for work—they eventually married on December 18, 1968, in Phoenix.

Jeannie and David both graduated from Arizona State University with degrees in nursing and law, respectively. They next moved to New York City so David could continue his law school education at Columbia University. During this time, Jeannie worked as a psychiatric nurse and supported David while he attended school. Jeannie worked most often with children and provided vital treatment and support to children who had frequently suffered horrific abuse. This was a demanding and psychologically difficult job, and Jeannie was strongly affected by her patients’ stories. Indeed, one of her patients, Joshua, made such an impression on her that he became the namesake of her first child. This was also an exciting and sometimes harrowing time outside of work. Jeannie would often entertain the family with tales of life in the big city, including at least once being literally chased by a stranger back to her apartment after taking the subway home from work!

Jeannie and David left New York and moved to the Washington, DC, area in 1973 when David was hired at the International Trade Commission. In this same year, their first son, Joshua, was born. Joshua was followed by Jason in 1975, Christopher in 1979, and Mathew in 1982. (Jeannie wanted to add a daughter to the family but after four straight boys decided that enough was enough.) It is notable that Jeannie and David had difficult early childhoods, spent time in orphanages, and endured considerable adversity. Given their backgrounds, it is that much more remarkable how well they did as a couple and as parents. They gave their four boys an incredibly loving and secure environment. Their boys will be forever grateful and feel incredibly lucky to have been their children.

Jeannie selflessly sacrificed her nursing career to raise her boys. Although she never again worked professionally as a nurse—with four boys, however, she frequently acted as a nurse, literally saving their lives and limbs on numerous occasions—she held many other positions throughout her life, including professional swimming coach, business owner, and clothing designer. Remarkably, all of these professions stemmed initially from hobbies. This was a theme of Jeannie’s life. She never did anything “just a little.” Nearly all of her interests—and she had an incredible variety of unique and interesting interests—developed into serious and often professional pursuits. When she took up swimming in her early 40s, she ultimately competed in the FINA World Masters Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When she took up knitting, she opened her own shop and sold creations to Lord & Taylor. When she got interested in parrots, she accumulated a flock of seven parrots (and lovingly cared for every one of her flock mates). She got into swim coaching by volunteering as her son Joshua’s assistant coach but worked her way up to head coach of several teams and even had swimmers compete at Nationals.

Jeannie’s interests were wide, varied, and always interesting. She loved music and played a variety of musical instruments, including the piano, clarinet, accordion, and most recently and most passionately, the bassoon. Her passion for music was one that she passed down to her boys. All of her children played instruments, and some played them at a high level and even professionally. One of the most fun things about knowing Jeannie was hearing what she was into next. She would see something somewhere and the next thing you knew, she was doing it. She heard about falconry (hunting with falcons), somewhere, and started taking lessons in it. She literally had falcons on her leather-strapped arm and was commanding them to go out and find dinner. It was so much fun knowing Jeannie. Jeannie had many more far less exotic interests. She was a master sudoku and Candy Crush player. (We used to joke that the makers of Candy Crush must be making new levels specifically for her.) She loved her hot tub, her flowers, and she especially loved her dogs. Jeannie had many dogs during her life, including poodles, Norwegian elkhounds, dalmatians, and bichon frises, all of whom she loved immensely and cared for tenderly.

For several years, Jeannie split her time between Northern Virginia, where sons Jason and Christopher live, and Mobile, Alabama, where son Joshua lives. She eventually moved to Mobile full-time, and David, who was winding down his career as an attorney in Washington, DC, joined her in Mobile in 2020. Sadly, this proved to be Jeannie’s final year and was marred by the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns. Jeannie was in a particularly high-risk category and was effectively restricted to her house during the entire pandemic. This was a difficult time for Jeannie. As a silver lining, it did allow her and David to spend nearly every minute of every day of her last year together. They were able to affirm how much they not only loved each other, but genuinely liked each other. They were best friends. They enjoyed spending time together at home watching British television shows, working on gigantic jigsaw puzzles, pursuing their personal interests and hobbies, and making plans for their futures together post-pandemic.

They were especially looking forward to visiting Scotland again. Jeannie and David had travelled all over the world and in recent years had spent several summers in the Scottish Highlands. They were very much in love with the country and people. Jeannie was a voracious reader and could recount in detail the major events and players in Scottish history. She was also a huge fan of the Outlander book and television series, so visiting Scotland was like living out a fantasy. She couldn’t wait to get back. Jeannie was also looking forward to more mundane but equally important everyday activities, like going to the gym; shopping; eating at Wentzel’s Oyster House, Los Rancheros, and Olive Garden; “going to the Beau” (Rivage Casino in Biloxi); and going to the pool with her grandchildren. Sadly, none of these things will happen, but it is comforting to know that she had plans for the future and was able, although not without difficulty on occasion, to envision life after the pandemic.

While reminiscing about Jeannie, her daughter-in-law, Hope, used the word “incandescent” to summarize her. This is a particularly apt description of Jeannie’s spirit. She was a 4’11” ball of passion who radiated energy on everyone she met and everything she did. Although she left this world far too young and had so much more to do, she lived an incredible life during her 73 years. Jeannie will be remembered fondly by all who knew and loved her. Her loss will forever be felt by her immediate and extended family and the myriad people she encountered during her remarkable life.

Visitation and viewing to be held from 5-7 PM on February 4, 2021, at Radney Funeral Home, 3115 Dauphin St., Mobile AL 36606. Service to be held on February 5, 2021, at 10 AM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1900 Dauphin St., Mobile AL 36606. Private interment to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Penelope House (penelopehouse.org) or the Animal Rescue Foundation (animalrescuemobile.org).