Carolyn Mary Foster

Obituary: Carolyn Foster Obituary - Ann Arbor, MI | Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Service (niefuneralhomes.com)

Mini biography:

(Much of the following information was provided directly by Carolyn not long before her passing and compiled by her son, Terry.)

Born Carolyn Mary Linn on October 19, 1945, at the Emanuel Hospital (now Legacy Emanuel Medical Center) in Portland, Oregon, Carolyn was the last of six children for parents Ruth Evelyn (Cherry) and Daniel Beckman Linn. At the time of her birth, the family lived on SE Gladstone Street, but not long after moved to SE Francis Street in Portland. At around nine months of age, Carolyn contracted measles. When she was about three years old, Carolyn befriended a girl named Venita who lived across the street and these two managed to stay in contact and maintained a life-long friendship.

The family kept many animals in their basement and backyard, including cats, dogs, rabbits, and eventually a coop with chickens. Carolyn's father was a key contributor to the breeding and domestication of hamsters. Her mother would grow lily-of-the-valley flowers along the side of the house. Though the family moved a few times during Carolyn's high school years, she attended Franklin High School all four years, during which she took two years of Advanced Spanish. For a time, she had a boyfriend who was an exchange student from Barcelona, Spain. Even though she experienced depression and anxiety in high school, she managed to graduate on June 13, 1963, with honors.

Shortly before graduating from high school, Carolyn met and began dating her future husband, Dwight Foster. Upon graduation, she was awarded a four-year scholarship at Portland State. During her first semester there, she took German, Creative Writing, and World Literature - the latter of which she particularly loved. Unfortunately, due to anxiety, she dropped out after this first semester and lost her scholarship. However, her relationship with Dwight continued to develop and they were eventually married on June 13, 1964, in the Mount Scott Church of the Nazarene in Portland – the church that her grandfather had built and her father helped to build when he was a boy.

While her husband pursued his education at Oregon State for a couple of years, Carolyn worked, her first job being in Corvallis. It was during this time that she was also baptized as a Baptist. Her husband was eventually accepted to The Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wisconsin, where they experienced major culture shock due to the extreme winter weather. Carolyn continued to work, but because her husband found his courses to not be in line with his overall goals, they were only there for a year and a summer. They then moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Carolyn started nursing school while her husband attended the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to pursue becoming a pastor. Carolyn eventually graduated as a Licensed Vocation Nurse in February 1968 and was prepared to continue studying to become a Registered Nurse, but became pregnant with her first child.

Her husband eventually became disillusioned with the prospect of becoming a pastor and decided to enlist in the Air Force. Because his Chemistry degree came through in time, he was able to join as an officer. They moved to Aurora, Colorado, for a short period of time where Carolyn was able to work in a nursing home. After that, her husband was transferred to Turkey while Carolyn moved back to Oregon and lived with her sister, Jacque, in Gresham, soon giving birth to her daughter, Merry, on November 4, 1968. With her new baby, she later moved in with her other sister, Evelyn, for a short time, after which she moved back in with her parents, staying in her old room.

When Merry was about six months old, Carolyn was finally able to join up with her husband who had been stationed in Aviano, Italy. They were soon making enough money that they were able to do lots of traveling. Both having studied languages, they greatly enjoyed visiting many different countries, including Spain, France, Austria, Germany, England, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia, from which they had collected many interesting and beautiful souvenirs and decorative items. Carolyn eventually became pregnant with her second child and later gave birth to her son, Curtis, on January 30, 1971, in Vicenza, Italy. Around this time, they were befriended by the Jacobs family who were also stationed in Aviano. Through this friendship, they were introduced to and eventually baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The family lived in Italy for about four years, with Merry and Curtis both initially learning more Italian than English. Shortly before leaving, Carolyn became pregnant with her third child. They were then transferred to California where she later gave birth to her son, Terry, on February 15, 1974, in San Bernardino. Not long after, they were transferred to Louisiana. During this time, Carolyn was called as the Relief Society President of her church ward where she was able to put her education and nursing skills to good use. However, taking care of three small children while her husband was often away on Air Force assignments forced her to give up the calling, especially with Terry developing significant health issues related to asthma.

Around 1977, the family was transferred to Hill Air Force Base near Layton, Utah. Shortly after, Carolyn and Dwight divorced, and she started working as a nurse at Tanner Clinic in Layton. Carolyn really enjoyed her time working for Dr. Tanner and, for a few years, she did her best to provide for her three young children, but depression and anxiety eventually got the better of her and she was no longer able to hold down a job. Even though these mental health challenges were significant and would stay with her for much of the rest of her life, she continued to try her best to ensure that her children were provided for and that they consistently made it to school and church. She expected them to do their best and ultimately made sure they knew that she loved them completely.

Around 1981, Carolyn decided to move back to Gresham, Oregon, to be near her sister, Jacque. Her father, Daniel, passed on August 17, 1984. Merry eventually graduated from high school in 1986, married, and soon presented Carolyn with her first grandchild. Dwight, having left the Air Force and started a software company, decided to give Merry's husband a job and help provide a home for the young family in Eden, Utah. Carolyn soon followed with her two boys and for the next many years, lived with her daughter, which allowed for both Merry to help take care of her mother and for Carolyn to help raise her grandchildren.

Carolyn moved with Merry and her family to Vancouver, Washington, in October 1988. In 1991, her mother, Ruth, was diagnosed with cancer. Carolyn then started making the commute to Clackamas, Oregon, practically every day for many weeks to help her older brother, Danny, take care of their mother until her passing on August 19. By around 1993, Carolyn's mental health challenges had eased to point that she was able to run a daycare service out of the home for a while, watching others' kids along with her own grandchildren while Merry worked. Her daughter eventually gave Carolyn four grandchildren: Elisa (b. 1986), Trevor (b. 1988), Laurel (b. 1992), and Tyler (b. 1994). From Curtis came two grandchildren, Jacob (b. 1992) and Jolie (b. 1999). And from Terry eventually came two grandchildren, Nicolas (b. 1995) and Edmond (b. 1999).

Carolyn began living with her son, Curtis, starting around 1999. Being still in the Vancouver, Washington, area, she continued to be as active in the lives of her children and grandchildren as she could. On August 7, 2009, her daughter, Merry, passed away suddenly. For about a year, Carolyn lived with Merry's former spouse and children, continuing to provide invaluable support to her grandchildren that had lost their mother, but eventually moved down to Tucson, Arizona, to live with Curtis and his family again.

In July 2011, Carolyn moved out to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and began living with her son, Terry, and his family. Around this time, her health steadily began to decline. She was eventually diagnosed with diabetes, COPD, and heart failure which significantly affected her mobility and forced her to be mostly home-bound. Still, her mind stayed sharp and she managed to become proficient enough in many of the newer technologies (e.g., smart phones, social media) to stay in contact with as many people as she could, making sure they knew that she was thinking of them and hoping to help brighten their day. She would continue to exercise her mental abilities by doing word searches and watching all kinds of sports to stay up on statistics. In the summer of 2023, she was diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer. Despite this diagnosis on top her other health issues, she was determined to persevere and was responding well to treatments. However, about a year later, she began to have even more trouble breathing. She then caught pneumonia and, despite fighting as best she could, was not able to recover and passed away on August 9, 2024, surrounded by loving family.