Arthur L. Foster passed away quietly June 5 with a daughter and his wife in attendance.  Gentle music was playing in the background. 

Art was born December 27, 1922 in Thornloe, Ontario, Canada to James (Jim) Foster and Ellen (Nellie) Foster.  He was the oldest of four siblings.  Art was a true "morning person".  He believed in getting up to start the day, he was born in early morning and died in early morning. 

Art was an amazing man.  He had a high level of education with an undergraduate degree from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.  His B Div. (now M Div.) was also from McMaster.  His Ph.D. was from the University of Chicago.  His thesis was entitled Self Concept and God Concept which remained an important concept to him throughout his ministry career.  He wrote two books and was published in many magazines over the years.  He was ordained by the Toronto Baptist Association on September 14, 1948. He became an American citizen in 1964, which ended up being a very big year for him.  It was the same year his youngest birth child was born and he received his Ph.D.

Art worked until he was over 80.  He enjoyed using and combining psychology and ministerial skills to help people and organizations.  Through his work at numerous churches, counseling centers, and universities, Art's work truly touched and guided thousands of lives.  Many former students and clients stayed in touch with him throughout their lives, crediting him with many facets of their success.  Art had several distinct, but related, careers.  His first career was pastoral ministry.  His second career was teaching Pastoral Care in seminaries around the country.  Art’s third career was doing private pastoral counseling.  He was licensed as a psychologist in Missouri and as one of the first Mediators in Kansas.

Art loved to read.  He would read cereal boxes if nothing else was available! He belonged to a Book Club at Colonial Church and found it entertaining and stimulating.  He truly loved his Tuesday morning book club meetings. He especially loved books on notable historical people and biographies of American Presidents.

He loved movies but would not buy popcorn or concessions.  His word for popcorn and a drink was “extravagance”. It was his depression era experience arising in him.   He really enjoyed it when one of his daughters had a summer job at a movie theatre and he got both free admission and free concessions! 

He loved to travel and went to many countries in Europe. A trip to Japan was his favorite.  He especially liked the Hakone resort region and Kyoto.  He rode on the Romance Train and while in the Hakone Mountain’s region saw Mt. Fuji for the first time.  He saw it again on the train to Kyoto, a beautiful city.

Art was truly one of life’s "givers".  He was solution-oriented when dealing with problems, especially in divorce mediation and church conflicts.  He stood up for what he believed in, even when his position was not the "popular" one.  One example of this is when he, along with his colleagues at Vanderbilt University resigned in support of racial equality in and the Nashville lunch-counter sit-ins in 1960 (they were reinstated after the medical school colleagues also resigned in support).  He did this despite having a young family to care for – but he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. 

We all get one chance on this earth; Art used his chance to make a difference.  His life truly made a difference to so many people, but especially to his now-grieving blended family.  To many who knew or knew of him, he was a person who made a difference.  To us, he was husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  We loved him, we admired him, we were so proud of him, and we will miss him forever.

Art was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and numerous close friends.  He leaves behind his beloved wife Marianne, sister Helen (Bob), 7 children: Wendy Evans (Richard), Jan Foster, James Foster (Sue), Cathy Baird (Dave), Megan Lasche (Brian), Julie Baker (Todd), David Stelting; and  22 Grandchildren: Caitlin Hollows, Sarah Samayoa, James Foster, Lacole Foster, Marshall Foster, Micah Foster, Tamara Campbell, Marcus Foster, Matt Foster, Tiffany Thorne, Tiara Holmgren, Jonathan Entgelmeier, Jason Entgelmeier, Katey Alleman, Tyler Lasche, Andrew Lasche, Luke Baker, Jordan Baker, Allison Baker, Taylor Stelting, Kendall Stelting, Logan Stelting and 23 great grandchildren. 

A Service in Celebration of Art's Life will be held at Colonial Church in Prairie Village (7039 Mission Rd) on Saturday, July 10, 2021, at 10:30 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, and to honor Art's request, the family prefers and requests memorial contributions made out to Colonial Church, with "Art Foster" noted on the memo line.  All donations will be used to help organizations that feed the hungry in our community.