Thomas E Foster

Thomas E. Foster September 19, 1923 - October 31, 2009 Thomas E. Foster, 86, died Saturday October 31, 2009, at Springhurst Health Campus, Greenfield. Born September 19, 1923 to Lester E. and Lila I. (Smith) Foster in Blue River Township, Hancock County, he moved to the current five generation farm in 1932. Tom graduated from Maxwell High School in 1941 and received a B.S. in Animal Husbandry from Purdue University in 1949. Prior to graduation, he served in the U.S. Army during WWII. As a 1st lieutenant pilot he was stationed in Germany during the Korean War. Later in life he renewed his pilot license as a member of the Blue Sky Flying Club and then became sole owner of the Cessna 172 with a landing strip on the farm. Tom was an active 4-H member and attended National 4-H Club Congress as Indiana State Achievement Winner. As member and captain of the 1941 Maxwell High School Basketball County Sectional Champions, he was inducted into the Greenfield Central Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. On December 24, 1944, Tom married Carol R. McElroy in Austin, Texas at Hyde Park Presbyterian Church. In 1953 they returned home to Sycamore Lane Farm with its highly regarded Poland China swine herd. Tom expanded the operation to include a purebred Yorkshire hog business. Tom served as President of Hancock County Farm Bureau, participating in state committees and attending national conventions. He was an active member and President of the Rotary Club of Greenfield, a Paul Harris Fellow, and host to Rotary Exchange students from Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, and Costa Rica. Tom was an active member of the Republican Party and a Hancock County Council member from 1974 to 1992. He was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield, serving as deacon and elder. He is survived by his wife Carol McElroy Foster; children, Martha R. (Robert) OKeefe of Norwich, NY, John T. (Debra) Foster of Greenfield, Patricia E. (Michael) Thonney of Ithaca, NY; grandchildren Thomas (Rie) OKeefe, James (Lara) OKeefe, Claudia (Patrick) Sahm, Michael Foster, Dallas (Meggie) Foster, Elizabeth Thonney, Benjamin Thonney; great-grandchildren, Aki and Taka OKeefe, Amelia Sahm, Ava OKeefe; and brothers, John P. (Barbara) Foster of Ellensburg, WA, James R. (Mary Lou) Foster of West Lafayette, IN. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sons, Robert and Charles Foster. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Monday, November 9, 2009 at the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield with John Paulson officiating. Burial will follow at Park Cemetery, Greenfield. Friends may call Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 2 until 6 p.m. at Stillinger Family Funeral Home, Pasco Chapel of Greenfield. Memorial contributions may be sent to the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield, 116 W. South Street, Greenfield, IN 46140 or the Rotary Club of Greenfield, PO Box 1, Greenfield, IN 46140.