David E. Foster ’37 *46

Quiet, enthusiastic Princetonian, and ardent reuner Col. Dave Foster died of a heart attack Jan. 23, 1998, leaving his wife of 50 years, Eileen.

Having prepared at Blair, Dave majored in classics at Princeton and took second group honors. He was on the wrestling squad and was a Press Club candidate, circulation manager of the Nassau Lit, in the band, on the Westminster Society Cabinet, a Princeton summer camp counselor, and a student tutor.

He became a master of Latin and Greek at Haverford before returning to Princeton for a master's and doctorate. In 1940 he began five years in the Army, including service in Europe, emerging a captain with a Bronze Star. In 1946 it was back to Princeton, but then he returned to Army life, with all sorts of jobs, including budget in the Pentagon; interpreting for Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon as advisor to the chief of staff of Vietnam, with telephone Tiger 509; in operations in Germany, personnel in Hawaii, intelligence in combat developments, and liaison with a French army corps in Germany. He ended up a colonel. After retirement, beside local hospital and library boards, he found Alumni College courses stimulating.

He and Eileen made many gifts to Princeton, particularly in honor of various reunions. He was on our 1946 reunion committee and in 1988 on the Alumni Council Committee on Academic Programs. In 1991 he moved into a retirement community in Charlottesville, Va.

The Class of 1937