Rebecca Foster

September 17, 1946 – August 22, 2026

Rebecca Foster, of Brookline, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on August 22, surrounded by her family. She was weeks shy of her 80th birthday.

Rebecca was born on September 17, 1946, in East New York, Brooklyn, the daughter of the late Victoria and David Motola. She was the youngest of three children and was predeceased by her brother, Isaac, in 2022. She was educated at PS 190, George Gershwin Junior High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School, and attended Brooklyn College.

On July 3, 1967, she married Michael Foster in Brooklyn. The couple resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; southern New Jersey; Mexico City, Mexico; and Wellesley, Massachusetts, before settling around the corner from their only child, Jessica, and her family in Brookline in 2013.

Rebecca was known for her warmth, curiosity, remarkable memory, and for the enduring friendships she formed throughout her life and travels. She was a witty conversationalist, an avid reader, a devoted correspondent, and an enthusiast of mahjong and travel, having visited destinations across Asia, Europe, South America, and beyond.

In May 2023, Rebecca was diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable form of small cell lung cancer. She exceeded every medical prognosis, living to witness her granddaughter's September 2025 bat mitzvah and nearly a year beyond, through numerous courses of treatment, during which she formed close relationships with her many care providers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.

She is survived by Michael, her husband of 59 years (and boyfriend of 64 years); her daughter Jessica and her husband Benjamin Berkowitz; and her cherished granddaughter, Eliana Foster Berkowitz.

A funeral service will be held at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 and burial will be at Mount Auburn Cemetery immediately thereafter. Shiva will be held at the home of Jessica Foster and Benjamin Berkowitz in Brookline on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5 - 8 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to small cell lung cancer research at the laboratory of her oncologist Dr. Jacob Sands, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology (https://danafarber.org/donate)