Thomas Bitting Foster ’38

Tom died Dec. 25, 1999, in Seattle, of prostate cancer.

He prepared at Penn Charter, where he was active in football, track, and debating. At Princeton, he lettered in lacrosse and was a cadet major (battalion commander) in the rotc. He did three years with the football jayvees, and was a member of Charter Club.

Entering the Navy as a seaman, Tom flew from 1940-46 in various combat theaters. As a reserve, he flew and commanded a patrol plane squadron until 1956. He retired in 1960 as a full commander.

After graduating from Harvard law school in 1948, Tom selected Seattle to be the family venue. Ultimately, the 145-attorney firm of Foster, Pepper, and Shefelman dedicated the Thomas B. Foster House for homeless families. Tom was also a trustee of a number of charitable foundations.

He flew his single-engine plane in turn to the Arctic Circle and Tierra del Fuego. The family sailed their 44-foot ketch from Florida to the Aleutians. Their Seattle houseboat home was featured in Sports Illustrated.

Tom is survived by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth "Cork", his daughters, Judy Carpenter and Becca, his sons, H. Andrews and Harold F. '77, sisters, Bobby Cummins and Mary McGulley, and five grandchildren, to whom the class extends its deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1938