Foster, Jimmie Fern 

"Fern Alert" Fern went to be with our Lord on November 5, 
2009. She was born on January 13, 1917 in Eastern, 
Oklahoma. She moved to the valley from San Francisco after 
the death of her first husband, Maurice Brannan. While she 
was on earth, she worked for AZ Wax Paper Co where she was 
the secretary and bookkeeper for 40 years. She was also 
very active in her church. She worked with the high school 
age for a number of years. Then after the death of her 
second husband Max Foster, she saw the need for a place 
for singles to gather at church. This was before any 
church in our country had a singles program. At the 
encouragement of her pastor, the singles program was 
started and very soon became a great success and was the 
largest in the valley for many years. Soon other churches 
caught the vision and would come to her to learn how to 
start their own program. Fern should have been a race car 
driver. She loved to drive fast all her life. Once she 
asked the police if she could buy the citations by the 
book. Would they be cheaper? She was a member of the 
Executive Secretaries of AZ. Fern loved music and sang 
with the Lyric Singers, the church choir and even learned 
to play the violin and played in the church orchestra. 
Another passion of hers was dabbling in land investments. 
After retiring from AZ Wax Paper, she decided to become a 
demonstrator at Costco. She would out sell anyone. When 
asked how she did it, her answer was that she loved people 
and what she was doing. Fern will be missed by her 
daughter Nancy Arnold (Walter - who affectionately called 
her "his wife's mother" instead of Mother-in-law); 2 
grandsons: Tim (Lorie) and Chuck (Shari); 6 great-
grandchildren: Kaylynn, Ryan, Chantelle, Chade (Jamie), 
Kenny and Amanda (Billy Joe); 6 great-great-grandchildren: 
Cheyenne, Collin, Emily, Jade, Zoe and Timmy; her dear 
sister-in-law Grace Shelton and many friends whose life 
she touched. Our family called her "Super" because that's 
what she was. Thanks to Hospice of the Valley. I couldn't 
have gone through this without you. Thanks to her "family" 
at 7th Heaven Care Home for your love and care. In lieu of 
flowers, donations can be made to North Phoenix Baptist 
Church, 5757 N. Central, Phoenix, AZ 85012 or Hospice of 
the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014. In 
honor of her life, go tell someone about the Jesus that 
Fern so dearly loved.

Published in The Arizona Republic on November 15, 2009