Obituary of Clara Foster

We are gathered here today in the memory of our mother, Clara Bell Foster, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy. Clara was 85 when she passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, June 18th in Rio Oso, California. It’s hard to say goodbye. We wish that we had more time, and perhaps that during the time we had we had spent more of it together. We wish that so much of her life had not been lost, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her struggles are at an end, there is pain and sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and perseverance. The ways she touched our lives will remain, and I ask you to keep those memories alive by sharing them with her family. Clara is survived by her 5 children, 11 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren with one on the way, and one great great grandchild, as well as other relatives and friends. This family, and her role as mother and grandmother, was the most important thing to Mom. This is where she drew her strength and left her legacy. Being with her family was what Clara enjoyed most of all. Her love and caring for her family remained her focus, and in so many ways, she was able to show that love to us. This perseverance through adversity is a powerful lesson for us, and I believe it is her legacy. What a wonderful lesson she gave us. Keep your priorities straight, keep that which is most important in focus. Love and care for your family. Let them know in all the ways you can show them that you love them. Don’t let adversities or setbacks or any of the distractions of the world keep you from this most important aspect of life. Clara loved being outdoors whether it was camping, fishing or gardening. One of the biggest joys in Mom’s life was gardening, and she took great pride in her vegetables and roses. Gardeners are special people, it takes patience and perseverance and a love for living things to grow a garden or a beautiful flower. Gardening is tedious and hard work, but there is something that gardeners know and experience that others sometimes do not. There is a beauty and a satisfaction in seeing the result of our labor grow and come to fruition. There is a peacefulness that can come over us as we care for and nurture the flowers and plants in a garden. In nurturing living things and helping to bring beauty and peace to the world, gardeners make a difference in the world and make their lives and the lives of those who see their gardens richer and fuller. I think that for Mom, maybe working in the garden was a way to be the careful nurturing person that she didn’t really get the chance to be. Knowing how much her family meant to her, and also how she loved to garden and grow roses, I think it was such a special blessing that just before she passed away, Clara was able to spend a wonderful and unusually long afternoon with Lisa on Saturday, laughing and enjoying her time in her garden with her daughter. The plants she nurtured and the love she showed to all of us will live on and be with us even now that she has gone.