A Maple Ridge man who gave tremendous energy working for seniors passed away on Monday.
Bob Foster, 84, was a citizen of the year nominee in 2014, and was well known for his involvement and commitment to numerous local groups over a period of more than 30 years, including the Ridge Meadows Seniors Society, Community Living Foundation, Seniors Connect, the Seniors Network and Community Services.
“The sudden loss of this fine gentleman will be felt by many senior service organizations in our community,” said Heather Treleaven of the Seniors Network, who worked with Foster.
“Bob was a founding member of the Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Katzie, Seniors Network in 2008. His kind heart and keen mind have been a steady hand keeping the network on course to ensure we are always doing the best we can to improve the lives of seniors in our community.”
In 2012, Foster oversaw the construction of the Inter-generational Garden in downtown Maple Ridge.
With the seniors society, he was a longtime volunteer driver for the Seniors Helping Seniors program. With a background in business and banking, he was also on the society finance committee for many years. He had worked in his professional life as an area manager with the Bank of Montreal.
For some eight years, Foster was vice-president of the Community Living Foundation, the financial arm of the Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living, which serves people with developmental disabilities. The organization operates 18 residential homes in the area runs a workshop, garden-centre, and yard work crews.
He also started the Seniors Helping Santa project “to try and make sure seniors without family nearby felt a little love over the holidays,” added Treleaven.
Foster was also a valued volunteer with Community Services, visiting seniors who couldn’t get out and were lonely – in some cases the same person for more than 20 years.
For all of his work with seniors, he received a Gerontology Leadership Award from Simon Fraser University in 2014.
Foster passed away in Ridge Meadows Hospital. He was predeceased by his wife Suzie. A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, March 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Garden Hill Funeral Home, 11765 – 224th St. In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to make a donation to the Ridge Meadows Seniors Society.
• Expressions of Sympathy can be made at www.gardenhill.ca
