Remembrance from Grandson Kevin Jones
My grandpa as I knew him, was just grandpa. Most people called him Bill Foster. Sometimes people said that he was grouchy or grumpy, but the truth is he really wasn't. If he said something to you that maybe made you feel sad or picked on or awkward, It just meant he liked you and if you told him he would probably tell you you were being too sensitive. If my grandpa didn't pick on you, the truth is he probably didn't like you. I remember when I was a small boy I used to go to school and get picked up sometimes by my grandpa. He had his old white Chevy Scottsdale C 20. I remember the seats in it were Mallard green. My grandpa was so proud of the interior of that pickup because he made the seats with his sewing machine. Right after he finished sewing them we went around Agoura Hills and stopped by the local shops where my grandpa had friends and he showed them the work he did on his seats.  My grandpa used to always love to tell me the story about the day I went to school and took a red marker and painted red polkadots all over my face.  I told the teacher I had chickenpox. Obviously she didn't believe me and sent me to the nurses office where two hours later my grandpa came to my rescue and said, "What's wrong with you? What are you, a dummy? I said no, I have chickenpox, grandpa. He said, "no, you have red marker all over you. Come on, let's go. I'm taking you home to your mother." We left the school and went to grandpa's house where my grandma made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped in a napkin with a glass of milk. It was pretty much what they made me every time I went over there. Another memory I have is when my grandpa went to a garage sale and picked me out a classic diamondback BMX racing bike. It had already been loved by other kids previous to me but that was no big deal. My grandpa wanted me to have a new bike so he took it completely apart, painted it lime green, put new tires and grips on it and brakes. It was like brand-new again.  He gave it to me for my birthday.  It was my first real bicycle and I remember riding it every day. Now that I'm older and have children, I realize a lot of things that my grandpa did for me or told me, that didn't mean much as a child but now, every day, I review back many memories of my grandpa and the things that he told me that were important about life and I now wish more than ever I could tell him, grandpa, you were right.  I will continue to miss my grandpa and remember all the things he told me, the things he taught me, the things he showed me and I know he would be proud of me now as a grown man doing things the way he did. Grandpa used to call me all the time. I was usually busy and he would leave me a message, but if I could get grandpa to call me one more time I promise I would answer and I would tell him, "I love you grandpa."

Son William Foster's Remembrance
Dad had a great big heart. I think he tried to play it down, but we all knew. He was larger than life to me when I was a kid. He taught me about hard work, and how to create something from nothing.

We built so many cages together, and other things, for chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, cows and horses, and ducks, and don't forget dogs. He did surprising things, like in my college days, let my rock band rehearse in his garage, with my large paintings taking over the other half. He'd walk in while I was painting, look at it, shake his head and walk out, or say "looks terrible." And, he was right, some of the time.

We didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but he loved me anyway, and I him. He was always ready to go, even if we just got there, wherever there was. He took us camping and dune-buggying, worked on our house and provided for us.

He was a good father, his greatest pride was his family. He loved us, his wife, kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, more than anything else.

I will miss him dearly.

Remembrance from Dan and Penny Lambach
Bill, Bill, Bill,
Your bus came in way too soon. Dan and I miss talking to our "Best back door buddy" on Sundays. Oh wait, it is Sunday, past 9 a.m. But Hello to you. Your "Ya whatever!" Always made me laugh.

I remember when still living in Agoura, one spring a heavy rain storm hit. You came over. All my ewes started lambing and holding two lambs you said "which ewes???" "Where ya puttin' em?" You were laughing and getting soaked.

Thanks for being such a good "family" friend and we had many great great "family" good times together...
HAPPY NEW TRAILS!!!

Grandson Tanner Ouellette's Remembrance
While there are many great memories of my grandpa, there are a few that stand out and will remain to be some of my greatest memories. First off, I always remember having half days at elementary school on Wednesdays. Since my parents had work during the week, Wednesdays would always be the days I got to spend with grandpa. He would always arrive early and get the front parking spot closest to the gate. We'd get out of there before traffic and hit all the greenies as he would always say as he timed the traffic lights perfectly. Our main course for lunch would usually consist of the infamous tomato sandwich, made fresh from the dudes and dudettes cafe.
The next memory would be the countless number of card games spent with my grandparents. There was always good company, good treats, and good competition that would play out on those late nights. Grandpa had his own unique style and one hell of a poker face. The games will not be the same without him since there is no one to stop my grandma from winning every game.
The last memory I will share will be the trips to Ventura. We'd load up the truck with grandma and the dogs and make our ways up north, listening to the 50's radio station. My grandpa would always know the words to most of the songs and would hum to the rhythm as we idled down the road. The onramps to the freeways were his favorite part of the drive in my opinion, since he loved to show off his hemi powered truck.
In the end, I learned a lot from my grandpa. He loved to tell me all his tricks and tips, which he had a lot of. He also loved to tell me stories about his days
camping with his friends and family, taking his dune buggies out, his days at the studios, and his days as a cowboy. I really wish he could have attended my college graduation since that was always what he wanted for me. While his passing is hard for me, I am very thankful and feel very blessed to have spent those memories and many others with him. I know he was a great man, and I couldn't be happier to say that he was my grandpa.

Grandson Taylor Ouellette's Remembrance
My grandpa was one of the most important people in my life. He was my idol, he taught me almost everything I know, he was always there for me growing up. A lot of my memories of my childhood involved him and the crazy things he would do. One of my favorite memories with him was when he would pick me up from school on Wednesdays for half day and take us behind the high school for snake runs.
Another memory I have, which I will never forget, was walking into the back yard and noticing the window of their brand new camper broken. Grandpa would claim that he was golfing with the weed whacker. Grandma would get very mad at him, and his response would involve calling her a fuzzy headed baboon and to get in the house.
Out of all the memories I have spending with my grandpa, by far my favorite has to be my days in 4 h. My grandpa would always be there for us to oversee our projects and be there every step of the way.
I will truly miss my grandpa but I am glad to know I will always have someone watching down on me from doggie heaven.

Grandson Gary Moore's Remembrance
Bill Foster was a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to me he was Grandpa. He was the grandpa who liked to mess up your hair, or "feathers" as he liked to call them, or give you smooches on your cheek because you thought it was gross. I remember one time I had a loose tooth and I couldn't wait to show Grandpa how loose my tooth was. When I showed it to him he told me the best way to get it out was to tie a string to the tooth and the other end to the doorknob and slam the door! I remember thinking, "wait, that sounds like a terrible idea!" And he proceeded to chase me around the house with the string. Obviously he was just teasing, or trying to "ruffle my feathers up." But those were the types of things Grandpa liked to do. Grandpa always loved all of his family, and would do anything to help out his family. He was deeply loved and will be deeply missed.

Daughter Susan's Memories

My dad was quite a character, he could make you laugh one minute and drive you crazy the next. I remember every time I would call my mom, there was my dad in the background putting in his two cents! This was one of those drive me crazy moments.
But my best memory of my dad is how much he loved my boys. He always said  I raised those boys, they are mine! So I'm gonna say to my dad, you are right, you did raise them and you did an awesome job.
This may be the end of the road for him, but he will never be forgotten.

Remembrances
From daughter Shellie Jones

My dad loved horses. I remember at one time we had five. Dad had one horse that I remember well. He was a beautiful seven year old green broke Quarter horse when Dad bought him. His name was "Little Bit." He was a beautiful black horse but he was full of a little bit of something, if you know what I mean! My dad had big plans for this horse. He trained and worked with him a lot until he was rideable for him and only him! This horse was a one man horse. One day my Dad asked me if I wanted to ride him. I said "no." I said no for awhile. Then one day he asked me again and something told me if I said no again, I might never have the chance to ever ride him. So I said O.K. My Dad put a lead rope on him, I got in the saddle and he was a little squirrelly but no bucking me off! I was happy. So after a few sessions of being lead around like I was a little kid on a new pony he said "Ready to ride Little Bit on your own?" I said O.K. My Dad says "keep the reins tight and his head up so he can't buck you off." As soon as he said that I had a change of heart. I was ready to get off and I hadn't even landed in the saddle yet. Well I got in the saddle and everything was o.k. Little Bit and I were bonding. My Dad kind of walked around and he followed him like a lost dog. I had no control of him but was so proud to be riding him. Little Bit was without a doubt my Dad's favorite horse.

Wife Carol Foster's Remembrance
What a ride! Married to Bill Foster for 54 years. I met Bill at a Morningside versus Inglewood high school football game. A friend introduced us. Annetta knew Bill from the horse stables in El Segundo, California. He would ride horses there and throughout his life would always love horses and the cowboy culture. We were married April 22nd, 1961 in Inglewood, California. We lived in Inglewood after our marriage and our three children, Shellie, Susan and William were born there.

Then came the first phase of what I called Bill, "the grass is always greener Foster." We moved a house from Hawthorne to "grass is always greener" Old Agoura, California. And that year it really was. It rained 22 inches while we were trying to get our house back together and finished. Of course we had already built a chicken cage and had the first of many animals and dogs in Agoura. We loved the rural feel and living in Old Agoura. Our best years were raising kids and animals and attending the Ventura County Fair every October for eight years.

Through the years when friends would move away, Bill thought it would be nice to go where "the grass is always greener" Paso Robles, Solvang, Quincy, Texas, Arizona, etc. But we stayed in Old Agoura and it became more citified, even changing the name from Agoura to Agoura Hills in 1982. We had two of our children close by after they married and, oh, did Bill love his grandkids. First came Gary and Kevin and ten years later another two, Taylor and Tanner. Then 10 years the last three grandsons, William and Ginger's Blaze and Buzz and Shellie's Bailey. At the same time, our great grandsons came along, Kevin and Jessica's Toby and Korbyn. He loved them all so very much.

In October of 2013 Bill had a health crisis with his diabetes and in October of 2014 he had another health crisis and had to have a major operation on his pancreas. Bill said he hated October and was not looking forward to October 2015.

And coming to the last phase of "grass is always greener" we bought six and a half acres in Loveland, Colorado where daughter Shellie and her three sons live. Bill and I went to Colorado in May of 2015 and had a great time with the family. I was also in Colorado in September and Kevin and Gary took me to Grandpa's Diner in Berthoud. I bought Bill a cup from Grandpa's Diner that has written on it, Grandpa's, Rise and Dine. He loved that cup and drank coffee out of it every day. He would often say "I don't think I'll ever make it to Grandpa's Diner."

But he did make it to his last "grass is always greener" heaven, as Bill would say, Doggie Heaven, because he didn't make it past October, 2015. He died on October 27th, 43 years to the day that we moved our house to our first "grass is always greener" Old Agoura.

I think our family doesn't like October anymore, and we will all love and miss him very much.

He will be missed especially his great humor and cowboy coffee....anna and john

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief.  May your memories bring you comfort.

OBITUARY

William Foster

July 28, 1939 – October 27, 2015

Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park, Mortuary & Crematory

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