Reverend Betty Jean Foster

A wonderful tribute from cousin Kira. This was originally posted in her blog and it brought laughter and tears:

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My Aunt Betty died this past weekend. This is the picture from her webpage at the funeral home. It isn't the way I remember her. If it weren't for her smile, I would hardly recognize her. I remember her as a vibrant young woman with thick, long, luxurious brown hair, who loved me like a daughter.

I was lucky enough to have several aunts who were like second mothers to me, and Aunt Betty was one of them. She had three children, all of them a little younger than me. Aunt Betty was five years younger than my dad so when I was born, she was always up for babysitting. She loved kids.

She told lots of stories from those days but the only one I remember is the time when I was somewhere around a year old and Aunt Betty had left me alone for just a minute. When she came back, she thought I'd had a severe case of diarrhea that had overflowed my diaper, but it turned out I had gotten into the S&H Green Stamps and had been sticking them all over my legs. (If you don't know what S&H Green Stamps are, ask your mother - or grandmother).

Her daughter was three or four years younger than me, but so were most of my girl cousins. We all played together anyway. I know a week didn't go by without us getting together, since we all lived in the same small town. If I thought really hard I could probably remember a few specific things we did, but mostly I just remember how much fun it was to go visit Aunt Betty and my cousins.

Aunt Betty played piano by ear. She could sit down and play anything she wanted. She always said she envied me that I could read music. I envied her, because I had to have music to play anything. I couldn't just sit down and sound it out the way she did.

Mostly, I remember Aunt Betty laughing. She had a beautiful voice, and a lovely laugh. I have since found out that the many of the years of my childhood were troubled ones for Aunt Betty, but I never suspected at the time. She was my beloved aunt, whose arms were always open wide for hugs, and who was always ready to laugh.

We are so very sorry to hear about Aunt Betty. I wish we could come down but it just isn't possible right now. Our thoughts and prayers will be with all of you.

Love,
Kira, Kevin and James

We love you Mom and we miss you. We know that you're in a place where there are no more sorrows, tears or pain. Watch over us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life"