were Roy Anderson Gill and Mary Amelia Burton. Patricia was one of four sisters. Betty Jane Schaffer
and Peggy Jean Chandler preceded Pat in death. Her older sister, Nancy Lee Spear, is living in
Southern Florida.
Pat was seventeen years old and a senior in high school when her father took a position at a war
plant in Norfolk, Virginia, in early 1942. Her family packed their belongings, and moved first to
Norfolk, and then to Virginia Beach. Pat did not finish her senior year. Instead, she got a job at the
local five-and-dime department store. She also felt the call to do her part in the war effort and
volunteered at the USO, an organization that entertained and supported the military. It was at a USO
gathering that Pat met her future husband, William Foster.
It was a whirlwind courtship. During the war, when love was found and couples faced the
possibility of never seeing one another again, they often rushed to the local courthouse and married.
Such was the case for Bill and his “Patsy”, as he liked to call her. They quickly married and two
months later Bill sailed off to sea.
Pat gave birth to her first child, a son she named William Patrick, while her husband was on board
ship. The wait for father and son to meet was just one of the many sacrifices the couple made during
World War II. They survived the war and traveled across America while Bill was a Navy man. During
their travels, they had two more children: Barbara Lee and John Wayne. In 1953, Bill was stationed in
Sanford, Florida, at the Sanford Naval Air Station. Pat and Bill fell in love with the small, lakefront
community and decided to make it their permanent home. They had a house built in 1955 in a new
subdivision called Pinecrest. Two more children were added to the family: Janet Lynne and Debra Rene.
When the Sanford NAS closed in the late 1960s, the Fosters chose to remain in Sanford. Bill retired
from the Navy and took a job with Martin Marietta in Orlando. Through the years, the family enjoyed
outings to places like Big Tree Park, Wekiva Springs, and the Navy Base pool. They created happy
memories with lakeside picnics at Lake Golden, holiday get-togethers, weekend jaunts to New Smyrna
Beach, events at the Civic Center, and parades in downtown Sanford. John and Sharon Foster began
hosting Thanksgiving reunions at their home in Orlando in the early 1990s, and the annual gathering
remained a family tradition for many years.
Patricia made many good friends in Sanford. In her younger days, she enjoyed bowling, sometimes
on the same team with her husband, sometimes not. She joined a tournament league that traveled all
over the state. She became an active member of the Sanford Woman’s Club, where she devoted herself
to the community. During her time with the Club, Pat held several positions, including those of
secretary, treasurer, and president. Patricia was involved with the Garden Club and a literary book
club. For a few years, she worked part-time in the Ladies Department at JC Penney at the old Sanford
Plaza, which is where the store was located before it was relocated to the Seminole Towne Plaza Mall.
The years sped by, the children grew up, and Pat remained in her Pinecrest home with her
husband for 65 years. During the last decade of her life, from time to time, Bill would hitch up his
airboat to Silver (their Ford Explorer). Sometimes, he took Pat with him, frail though she was. He
tenderly took the hand of the woman he loved and helped her into the boat. Together, they would sail
the tranquil waterways around Sanford. Somewhere along the alligator-laden banks of the St. Johns
River, they would share a peaceful interlude and a picnic lunch.
Pat spent a short time at a skilled nursing facility in January 2020, and then lived out the rest of her
days at home. In her last eight weeks of life, Patricia Foster was tenderly taken care of by her husband,
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who all worked together to allow Pat to pass away
peacefully at home surrounded by love.
Patricia Ruth Gill Foster is survived by her older sister Nancy Spear; husband William M. Foster;
son William P. Foster (Carol Brumley) of Sanford; daughter Barbara L. Crockett (Thomas Crockett) of
Sanford; son John W. Foster (Sharon Edwards) of Orlando; daughter Janet R. Foster of High Springs,
FL; and daughter Debra R. Edge (Roger Fox) of Sanford. Patricia has numerous grandchildren and
great-grandchildren living throughout Central Florida and beyond. Her funeral will be attended by
ten people, as is allowable during the COVID-19 pandemic: her husband Bill, her children and their
spouses, and her great-grandchild, Candace Edge-Oglesby, who was Patricia’s primary caretaker
during the last year of her life. Her daughter, Janet, who is in isolation in Northern Florida during the
pandemic, will be in attendance via phone, where she will sing “Amazing Grace” during the service.
VITAS Hospice provided care during Patricia’s last few weeks, and the chaplain will be in attendance.
By her loved ones and friends, Patricia will be forever cherished and held in the highest esteem.
Her lifetime commitment to her family, her community, and her country, together with her
indomitable strength, is the legacy she leaves behind.
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