Hilda Foster

Long-time Eustace resident Hilda Louise Noble Foster, 94, died Monday, Jan. 30, at South Place Nursing Center in Athens. She died peacefully in the night. Visitation will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Eubank Funeral Home in Mabank followed by a 3 p.m. memorial service at the funeral home. Internment will be at Cottonwood Cemetery, Northeast of Eustace, but there will not be a graveside service. Arrangements are by Eubank Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be her six grandsons, and honorary pallbearers will be her two grandsons-in-law. Mrs. Foster was born Jan. 7, 1929, in Pauline, Texas, a community west of Eustace. She was born at home to Thomas Rufus and Ruby Lee Meredith Noble. She was their fourth child and the first of three daughters. She grew up in Pauline and Payne Springs, attending school in Payne Springs. She then transferred to Eustace High School to complete her education. Mrs. Foster was the last surviving member of the EHS Class of 1946. After graduation Hilda moved to Dallas to work for Sears Roebuck & Co., where she did clerical work. On Jan. 10, 1947, Hilda married Ferrell E. “Gene” Foster after he returned to Texas from serving in the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater at the end of World War II. The couple and their daughter, Dianne, lived in Dallas for a time before moving to Eustace, where Gene operated the local Humble service station in the early 1950s. They moved back to Dallas before the birth of their son, Ferrell, Jr. The Fosters were active in several Baptist churches through the years, beginning with Pleasant Wood Baptist Church in Dallas and ending at First Baptist Church of Mabank. Hilda’s life centered around her home. She and Gene raised their children primarily in Dallas at 7933 Jacobie Blvd. In the summer of 1976, they moved back to Eustace, living on 25 acres of land on FM 316 Southwest of Eustace. In their later years, Hilda lived with her husband at Oak Wood Place in Eustace before he passed away in 2019. She then lived with her daughter, Dianne, in Eustace until late in 2022 when she moved to South Place Nursing Center for additional care.

Mrs. Foster is survived by her daughter, Dianne, and her husband, Rick, of Eustace; a son, Ferrell, and his wife, Trese, of Waco; 10 grandchildren, Jennifer Morris and her husband, Rusty, of Eustace; John Sypert and his wife, Suzy, of Dallas; Justin Shaffer of Eustace; Josh Sypert and his wife, Stephanie, of Eustace; Matt Shaffer of San Antonio; Tiffany Foster Himes and her husband, Darren, of Cross Roads; Tabitha Foster of Waco; Landon Foster of Kilgore; Meredith Foster of Denver, Colo.; and Cameron Foster of Parker, Colo.; 13 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Ruby Lyvonn Noble Robertson and Lillie Jo Noble Bonner.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Rufus and Ruby Noble of Payne Springs; three brothers, John Tom, Gene, and Durwood Noble; and one grandson, Tyler Foster.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.eubankcedarcreek.com for the Foster family.