The Rev. Robert E. Foster
The Rev. Robert E. Foster of Port Jervis died on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, in Keller, Texas.
Son of the late George Harmon Foster and Elizabeth Jessica Cookingham Foster, he was born on Nov. 10, 1920, in Cherry Creek, N.Y. He was born in the same room and house as his mother was born in.
After graduating from Cherry Creek High School, he enrolled and graduated from Houghton College in Houghton, NY earning his Bachelors in Theology. This was the same school his daughter Nancy, granddaughter Melissa, and son-in-law Jim graduated from in later years. He also played basketball while attending Houghton. He continued his education at The Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia PA, (now Palmer Seminary), earning his Masters of Theology.
Upon graduation, he received a call to pastor the First Baptist Church in Port Jervis in 1945, which he served for the next 40-plus years. He retired Dec. 31, 1985.
After his retirement he was an interim pastor of the Hope Evangelical Church in Matamoras. In addition to serving the pastorate, he served as President of the Orange County Bible Society, President of the Conservative Baptist Association of New York State and a board member of the Highland Lake Bible Conference.
Later he served as the first pastor at large of the Sate organization, served as Pastor of Visitation for Calvary Baptist Church, Warwick, N.Y., and was appointed as the first Pastor Emeritus of the First Baptist Church, Port Jervis. He was a faculty member of the Orange County Bible Institute. He was also a member of the Tri-State Bible Conference in Montague, N.J.
During his first year at Seminary, he married his college sweetheart, Elsie Burger on April 23, 1943. She died in the first trimester of pregnancy in 1946.
He married Phyllis Wright Foster of Brushton, N.Y., July 30, 1948. To this couple were born David Robert Foster, deceased July 1969 and Nancy Ellen Foster on May 26, 1952. His wife, Phyllis, died in 2011.
Survivors include his daughter, Nancy Hoyer and her husband, James of Keller, Texas; granddaughters, Melissa Sanders and her husband, Keith, and Rebecca Aho and her husband, Brad; grandsons, Jonathan Hoyer and his wife, Katie, and Steven Hoyer; and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation was held June 30 at the Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home in Port Jervis. Funeral services were scheduled for 11 a.m. on July 1 at the Milford Bible Church, 110 Foxcroft Rd., Milford, with the Rev. Keith Sanders officiating. Interment follows funeral services at Pine Grove Cemetery, Matamoras.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Milford Bible Church, 110 Foxcroft Rd., Milford, PA 18336.