Jeffrey Chase Foster
“Jeffrey Chase Foster”
Jeffrey died on November 9, 2019 at the age of 74 after a five-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was living with his daughter Karen in St. Louis, Missouri for the last months of his life and passed away peacefully at home. Jeff was known for his sense of humor and easy-going nature. He was a caring and devoted father, and was beloved by family and friends.
Jeff was born to Barbara Chase Foster and Henry Foster in Bristol, Connecticut in 1945. He was an unusually bright student with a talent for mathematics, but he also had a mischievous streak. His father was a math teacher at Bristol Eastern High School, and Jeff was the only student that he ever sent to the principal’s office! Jeff played basketball, ran track and lettered in tennis in high school. He also played trumpet in the school band and was a member of the National Honor Society. He loved camping and was very active in the Boy Scouts.
Jeff attended Brown University along with his future wife, Muriel McCormick, whom he’d met and dated in high school. He majored in applied mathematics and worked with Andy van Dam, an important figure in the field of computing and the inspiration for the character Andy in the Toy Story movies. After college, Jeff and Muriel got married and moved to Chester, New Jersey. They went on to have three children.
Jeff was hired by Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill after college, and the company sponsored his completion of a masters degree in applied mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology. One of Jeff’s proudest achievements in his early years at work was rewriting a computer program so that instead of taking eight hours to run, it took only eight seconds. He also made important contributions to the developing field of computer-aided design. He eventually moved into management and stayed with the company most of his working life, moving from Bell Labs to AT&T to Lucent Technologies and reaching the level of Vice President by the end of his time there. Jeff then left to form his own company, Twin-Bridge Consulting. He worked for five years as a consultant for several Fortune 500 companies and Duke University Medical School. He also taught classes as an Associate Professor at Stevens.
In retirement, Jeff went on numerous river cruises throughout Europe, Russia, and China, and spent many happy hours playing golf. He also greatly enjoyed time with his grandchildren, and especially loved spending two weeks on the coast of Maine each summer with members of extended family, a tradition that started in 1981.
Jeff and Muriel separated in 2010. In 2014 Jeff married Grace Chang, his longtime friend and business partner. They initially lived in McLean, Virginia, then moved to Walnut Creek, California to be near Grace’s family. Grace died of stomach cancer on May, 28th, 2019.
Jeff is survived by his first wife Muriel Foster, his sister Linda (Jim) Henry, his children Karen (Benjamin) de Foy, Susan Foster, and Michael Foster (Lauren Lacey), four nieces, two nephews, and seven grandchildren. He is also survived by Grace’s children Patrick Chang (Jessica Chan) and Christine Chang (Russell Sutton) and her four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in Maine in the summer of 2020.
My sincere condolences to the members of the Foster family. Jeff and I worked closely together at Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies for many years. Jeff was a true friend, mentor as well as a golf partner. He got me hooked on the game, we enjoyed many hours together on the links. I really appreciated all of the support and guidance he provided. I will miss him.
Jeff and Grace were dear friends from our participation in SIR Branch 8 activities, especially Dine In 3. Both battled cancer with determination and grace. We were saddened by Grace’s death and Jeff’s decision to leave California. We are doubly saddened by the news of his departure. Our prayers go out to his family for their loss.
Jeff and I were golfing buddies in Virginia. We met on the course and became instant friends. Our golf games were always pleasant. They gave us a chance to explore many topics of mutual interest. I am saddened to lose such a wonderful friend and send my deepest condolences to the family. The world has lost a great one!
So sorry for your loss. Jeff was a friend of ours from BEHS. Bob & I are shocked by the news. A wonderful guy.
Jeff and I frequently played golf together as part of SIR Branch 8 in California. A great guy. Sorry to hear of his passing.
It was a real pleasure for me to look upon your Father Jeff Foster as a practical and comfortable friend to Peggy and me, as well as to the SIR organization. We took to each other and Dear Grace immediately upon meeting at a Dine In # 3 private home dinner. Grace and I had an equal amount of energized business talk on every occasion we met. Jeff was a valued voice on the committees we served in SIR: Member Relations, Publicity, and Public Relations. He said to me, “every time I sit near you, I wind up on another committee!” I am very sorry to hear that now these two special people have left their families and us, yet not forgotten. I could tell when I met you even though briefly, you are a kind and loving daughter, much like my two men who have such things in their lives at any stage are very fortunate indeed! This sad news of the passing of Jeff Foster MD-67 of SIR Branch 8 will be capably distributed throughout the membership by SIR’s Larry Mersmann and Dave Perkins, cc’d above.
Jeff is remembered as a superb athlete and a loyal friend. Known for his quiet mannerism, his logic and humor will be missed. Well-liked by everyone, his gentleman approach was a credit to our organization.
David Platter
We were also part of the SIRS dinner group that included Jeff and Grace. They were fine people. We will all miss them greatly.
Jeff and I go back to grammar school and high school and there was a short period of time when I “hung out” with him in grammar school. I was taken back when I heard he left us, because he was such a wonderful individual who always treated me with great respect. That meant so much to me because of the respect I had for him. No one didn’t like Jeff Foster. He was one cool guy, a non-singing Perry Como type.
George Tolve, November 25,2019
Jeffrey and I were best friends growing up
on Pine Court,in Bristol. After years of losing contact we reconnected and had memorable
E-mails of our past and present times!
My wife Gloria and I were fortunate to see
Grace and Jeff for a Saturday afternoon at our
house,in Bristol three years ago for a Saturday
visit on there way for their Old Orchard Beach
vacation. I cherish that afternoon!!
My condolences to the entire family for
their loss of such a wonderful person.
My most sincere condolences to Jeff’s family.
Jeff is such a fun and wonderful person to work with. When I had doubts about projects, I remembered a famous quote from him “stick with me, and you will wear diamonds”. Yes, Jeff – memory of you is forever – your humor, your listening and caring, and your calm and creativity to rationally tackle very tough problems and arriving at good solutions. You may not have realized the very positive influence that you have passed onto colleagues and friends around you. You have the magic to light up the atmosphere and help us to enjoy brighter days, and that spirit will live on.