Ruth Margaret Foster

Ruth Margaret McAlpin Foster was born December 7, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio to Ella Genevieve Fosdick McAlpin and Ray Earl McAlpin. She was the second of 4 children and the only daughter, having an older brother Verne and two younger brothers Don and Ronald Bruce. Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a housewife and accomplished pianist. Her family loved to travel and would often go on trips on the spur of the moment. The family also moved frequently and they lived in many places- Ohio, California, Colorado, Arizona and several places around the Portland area. While living in Tuscan, Arizona when she was about 6, Ruth and her older brother liked to pour water in the tarantula holes just to watch them scurry out. It was somehow poetic justice that many years later, her youngest son would have both tarantulas and black widow spiders for pets!

When the family was living in Scappoose, Oregon when she was about 18, she met a tall young man with twinkly eyes and a nice smile named John Willey Foster, or Jack as he was known. They dated for a while but after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jack joined the Army Air Force. They wrote frequently and Jack sent Ruth an engagement ring while he was stationed in Sacramento, California in May of 1942. Almost two years later, on March 5, 1944 they were married while Jack was on leave. They lived in San Marcus, Texas for about a year. While in Texas they attended the Latter-Day Saint church where Jack was a member, but Ruth was not. They still asked her to be the Sunday School Secretary! She did join the church a few years after their marriage. They eventually settled in a very tiny house on Clatsop St. in Portland, Oregon. They had 4 children –Gregory, Christine, Carole and John- and the tiny house grew as the family grew. This home is where each child lived until they were grown ,and where Ruth lived for 68 years until she became unable to live there any longer in November of 2015.

Ruth and Jack had a wonderful marriage and set a fantastic example to the family as to the way a marriage should be. They always treated each other with love, respect and kindness and “love was spoken” in their home. One example that is so special involves Ruth’s dream about going to Hawaii. She loved everything about the islands but was sure she would never be able to go because of the cost. The thing that she didn’t know was that Jack had a special savings account that he had opened years earlier just to save the money needed to fulfill her dream. In 1979, he surprised her with plane tickets. They had a marvelous time and were able to return 3 other times after that. This is just one example of their love and devotion to each other.

They were also very devoted to their family, friends and neighbors. Ruth was very thoughtful of others and would send greeting cards (complete with many stickers), made cookies, brought fresh cut flowers from her garden, or bring meals to those that needed a little cheer or extra help. She never forgot family member’s birthdays. Birthdays in her family were very special occasions and the birthday person was treated like royalty for the day.

Ruth was patient, quiet, humble, kind, cheerful, a good listener, had a great sense of humor, and never raised her voice. She had a way of making everyone feel special and loved. She had a great many hobbies and interests. She loved all animals and birds and instilled that love in each of her children. She loved to cook, sew, crochet, embroider, write poetry, and she played the piano, organ, and the Hawaiian guitar. Music was so important in her home and so many memories involve music. She was a great gardener and could make about anything grow. Her garden was beautiful and reflected her love of flowers like roses, azaleas, lilacs, and dahlia’s that often would grow over 7 feet tall. She loved to do genealogy too and felt a real connection to those that had passed on before. Each summer the family went on a vacation somewhere, usually to the beach for a week. On occasion though, the vacations were longer and the family was able to travel to Canada, Crater Lake, Yellowstone Park, The Grand Canyon, Idaho, and Utah to name a few places. The family has many fond and oftentimes humorous memories of these trips and the time spent together.

Ruth served in many callings in the church during her lifetime and found great joy in her service. She was a visiting teacher, a Sunday School secretary, a Sunday school teacher, a Primary teacher, Primary President, Primary pianist, In-service leader, and Visiting Teaching supervisor to name just a few. She also served for many, many years as the primary secretary. This was at the time when Primary was held during the week and children were encouraged to bring their pennies to Primary to help the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. It was the secretary’s job to count each and every penny. Ruth’s family knew that when she was counting those hundreds of pennies, it was a good idea to leave her alone. Ruth and Jack also served as temple workers; first in the Seattle Temple and later in the Portland Temple when it was built and enjoyed working together and serving there so much.

Ruth was preceded in death by her beloved husband Jack in 1999, and one son-in-law, Don Coiteux. She is survived by her youngest brother Ronald Bruce McAlpin, her 4 children and their spouses- Greg and Darlene Foster, Christine and Ken Berglund, Carole Coiteux, and John and Karen Foster; 12 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.

While she may have passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 16th 2017, we know that she is living peacefully and to the fullest in heaven with her sweetheart, Jack.