Jimmie L. Foster

Jimmie Lee Foster dedicated his life to his family. He was a devoted husband and father who worked hard to provide for his children. Even in the face of adversity, he never once complained. Jimmie knew that his life was perfect, and he gladly cherished its every moment. Following the end of the Great War, thousands of young soldiers returned to their civilian lives back home. The economy prospered, and national industry flourished. Amid this climate of good fortune, Johnnie Foster and his wife Rose Gray discovered a more personal reason to celebrate. They were expecting a child, and on November 7, 1919 they were blessed with the healthy birth of their son Jimmie. The second of six children, Jimmie grew up in Columbus, Mississippi with the company of his older brother Johnnie, Jr. and his younger siblings Freddie, George, Hattie, Mattie, and Louise. His parents were poor sharecroppers. Jimmie started picking cotton at the age of three and continued to work on the farm throughout his childhood. After the sun went down and the workday ended, his mother taught him how to cook and bake. In his later years, Jimmie was famous for his cornbread, collard greens, and chocolate cake, all recipes that traced back to his mother. She even made "ash bread," which was baked among the ashes in the fireplace. Jimmie was raised in the Christian faith. Every week he and his family would dress in their finest clothes and travel to church by wagon. On one unfortunate Sunday morning Mr. Foster whacked the horse to get him going - and the horse responded by letting loose all over the family! Needless to say, the Fosters didn't make it to church that Sunday. After the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Jimmie joined the U.S. Army and served overseas in the Second World War. It took an entire month to cross the Atlantic ocean, and Jimmie's stomach did not agree with the bouncing waves. His seasickness was quite possibly his worst experience in the war. In Germany, Jimmie was responsible for guarding the prisoners of war. He thought very highly of the German prisoners, and he also had fond memories of the German children who would approach the GI's to ask for candy. On one occasion, Jimmie asked a child, "What's your name?" The child responded by saying something that sounded like "Hitler," and Jimmie exclaimed, "I think you just may be the cat we're looking for!" But the child quickly clarified: his name was "Helle." When the time came for Jimmie to return home, he hardly wanted to get back on the boat! If the war had just one lasting effect on him, it was his distaste for boats. Even in his later years, when he was settled down with a family of his own, he never went near the water. He even refused to go on a car ferry. Like many Southern African-Americans, Jimmie moved to the North to find work after the war. He settled in Muskegon, where he quickly found a job as a laborer for Lakey's Foundry. As he often said, "I came to town on Saturday and began working on Sunday." During his twenty-seven years at Lakey's Foundry, he never missed a single day and never once complained, even though he had plenty of reasons. He was always given the dirtiest jobs, and when the foundry went bankrupt he and his coworkers lost their entire retirement accounts. If Jimmie was angry, he never showed it. He went on to find a job with Brunger Construction in Grand Rapids. For the next twenty-six years, he gladly commuted to work each day and never had any problems - except once, when a Blue Jay flew through the open window of his car and collided with the side of Jimmie's head, striking him square in the temple. The bird fell dead, but Jimmie was all right. He told this story to his coworkers, who were also his good friends. Even after his retirement, Jimmie attended the company's annual party. Just two years after moving to Muskegon, Jimmie met the love of his life, an attractive young woman named Elsie Ford Cooley. She was from New Orleans, and she had come to the Heights by way of Chicago with an infant son in tow, Quintan. She lived with her aunt Lucille Brown, who operated a restaurant from her house. Jimmie stopped in for a meal and quickly met Elsie. They fell into an easy conversation, and he soon asked her out on a date. They fell in love, and in 1949 they were married in Muskegon. They were blessed with two wonderful daughters. Bettie was born in 1949, followed by Sharon in 1959. In the early years of their marriage, the Fosters lived in the Twin Lake community. By the time Sharon was born, they had relocated to the house on Leahy Street. Jimmie and Elsie were devoted parents who worked hard to provide the best for their children. Every Sunday Elsie made a delicious family dinner. Since she worked the second shift at GTE, Jimmie was responsible for dinner on weekdays. His meals never disappointed. He always served his famous cornbread, the best his girls had ever tasted. As Bettie remembers, "Dad invited me to dinner by saying, 'Bet, bread's done.'" Nothing tasted as good as this cornbread, except perhaps the Be-Mo potato chips that Jimmie bought each week after he filled his car at Bud's Filling Station. Quintan, Bettie, and Sharon all looked forward to this weekly treat. It was a family tradition. Every two or three years, the Fosters visited their families in the South. They always traveled in a Buick, the only brand of car that Jimmie ever owned. His parents were extremely proud of him. Of his siblings, he was the only one to leave the South and become a self-made man. Jimmie never lost sight of the many blessings in his life. He had great children, he owned three different homes in his lifetime, and he always drove a Buick - what more could he ask for? After he retired he was perfectly content hunting, feeding birds, and spending time in his flower and vegetable garden. Jimmie was thrilled to see his family grow with the blessing of four grandchildren. His face was always illuminated with a smile when he was with the youngest members of the family. In his later years, after his retirement, Jimmie went to work caring for Elsie, who had developed Alzheimer's. This disease required full-time care, and Jimmie did everything to make sure that she could stay at home. He took special care of her for ten years, until her death in 2004. Jimmie and Elsie were deeply devoted to each other. Despite her disease, she never forgot his name. The last words that she knew how to say were "Jimmie, Jimmie." During the ten years that Jimmie looked after his wife, he struggled through his own health problems. He was diagnosed with cancer and underwent several radiation treatments. It is thought that his cancer was caused by the many years that he worked in the foundry. Among the many people whose heart he touched, Jimmie will be greatly missed and frequently remembered. Jimmie died on Friday, January 19, 2007. He is survived by 2 daughters, Bettie Foster-Hawkins and Sharon (Samuel) Foster-Terfa, both of Grand Rapids; son, Quintan (Debra) Cooley; 4 grandchildren, Hillari Hawkins of Arlington, VA, Cliff Hawkins of Alexandria, VA, and Simone and Rashad Terfa of Grand Rapids; numerous step-grandchildren; and sister, Louise Hawkins of Columbus, MS. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie in 2004, 3 brothers, Johnnie, Freddie, and George; and 2 sisters, Hattie and Mattie. The Service will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 1:00 PM, at the Clock Chapel with Rev. Sarah Samuelson officiating. Interment at Sunrise Memorial Gardens. Please visit with family and friends on Tuesday, 1 hour prior to the service at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Cancer Society. Please visit Jimmie's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book.