A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at Pleasant Garden United Methodist Church, with Rev. Mark Weekley officiating. The family will receive friends Friday evening, June 1, 2018 at Hanes-Lineberry N. Elm St. Chapel from 6:00 until 8:00 pm.
Tom was born in Graham, NC on October 31, 1930 to the late Dan Foust and Mary Self Foust. He played football for Elon College before entering the United States Air Force of which he was a veteran of the Vietnam War and retired from the service as a Lt. Colonel. Tom was assigned to the United States Presidential Fleet. He flew Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, Johnson and Ford as well as VP Hubert Humphrey and other members of congress and dignitaries. While stationed at Andrews Air Force Base he completed his Bachelors at the University of Maryland. His follow up careers included, Director of Aviation at Burlington Industries based in Greensboro and later opened Foust Insurance Agency. He was a family man, a patriot, and forever embodied his military code of ethics. Throughout his lifetime, Tom always enjoyed a round of golf, whether at his home course at Forest Oaks or Olde Mill Golf Course and you could often find him enjoying a cigar on his back deck. In addition to his parents, Tom was preceded in death by his loving wife of 55 years, Betty Lou Ivey Foust; his son, Thomas Jackson Foust, Jr.; and his grandson, Erik Thomas Johnson. He was a great man, passionate about life, never met a stranger, generous, some said “larger than life”, and dearly loved by his family and friends.
Those left to cherish his memory include his daughters, Tracy Foust Johnson of Winston-Salem and Alison Foust Tweed and her husband Keith of Greensboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 96860, Washington, DC 20077-7677 (easiest way to contribute is by going onto the web-site) or to Pleasant Garden United Methodist Church, Building Fund, 4834 Pleasant Garden Rd., Pleasant Garden, NC 27313.
Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.
Ret. Lt. Col. Tom Foust, your last flight order: Heaven – God Speed.
