The Obituary of Bela Foster
The Roberts Herald
Bela
Foster, son of Eliab and Martha J. (Clark) Foster, was born at Salem,
Wisconsin, July 6, 1861, and died at his home in Roberts, Illinois, at 3:00
p.m. Wednesday, January 4th, 1939, aged 77 years, 5 months and 28
days. His death came as a surprise and
shock to the community as he was not known to be seriously ill. He had been slightly ailing with coronary
thrombosis but this was not considered to be serious so that his death came very
unexpectedly.
Mr.
Foster came with his parents to Illinois when he was four years old. They settled on the prairie in section two
northeast of where Roberts was later located.
At that time Lyman Township had not yet been organized. The railway through here had not been
built. Roberts and Thawville only to
come in the future history. Settlers
were few. He lived through the trying
times of the pioneers. He remained on
the farm for 25 years. In the mean time
he attended the public schools of his district and took a teacher’s course in
one of the early normal schools. He
then taught school until 1903. For a
time he was principal of the Roberts school.
…All
[his] former pupils held him in high esteem.
In his school work as in the actions of his whole life he always was
just and kind. If erred in justice it
was because of kindness. He was one of
the most conscientious men in the whole community. For him the greatest pleasure in life was in helping the needy or
doing some kind act for someone else whether more needy than himself or not.
In
1903 Mr. Foster was appointed to the position of rural mail carrier of Route
No. 2 out of Roberts. This position he
held for 23 years making his last trip on the 30th day of July,
1926.
On
the 14th day of September, 1904, he married Miss Christina A. MacKay
of Chicago, who survives him. He is
also survived by one brother, P.J. Foster of Roberts, three sisters, Miss Leda
Foster of Roberts, Mrs. Angeline Haling of Thawville and Mrs. Frances Ruedger
of Carson City Michigan, several nephews and nieces and many other relatives
and a host of friends who join the family in sorrow.
In
his early life Mr. Foster untied with the Congregational Church in
Thawville. In 1891 when the family
moved to Roberts he transferred his membership to the church here and during
the almost half a century since that time he has been ever active in the work
of the church. He was loyal in
attendance and he was always willing to do his whole part in furthering the
success of every Christian undertaking.
He held the position of Sunday School Superintendent for some time and
was a deacon in the church for many
years. Besides his work in church and
school he held several important public offices. He was village clerk for a number of years and also served as
clerk of Lyman Township. He never tried
to make himself conspicuous but ever tried to bring happiness to others while
keeping himself in the background. He
was a lover of flowers and raised beautiful ones in his flower garden, enjoyed
taking or sending them to the sick.
The
funeral services were held at the Congregational Church in Roberts Friday,
January 6th, at 2:00 pm…
Relatives
and friends from a distance who attended the funeral included Mrs. Helen
Haight, Toronto, Canada; Miss Rosalind MacKay, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; E.S.
MacKay and son Ted and daughter Mrs. Erica Swanson and Mr. And Mrs. F. B.
Gebhardt of Chicago; Mr. And Mrs. R.L. Ruedger of Carson City, Michigan; Mr.
And Mrs. Clark Ruedger, Frederick Blome; Mrs. Lloyd Borden, Sheboygan,
Wisconsin; Dr. and Mrs. F.M. Blome and daughter Louise , Kenney; Mr. And Mrs.
Merna Pruit, Mrs. Sarah Roberts, Mrs. Minnie Funk, and Robert Hawthorne of
Champaign; Mrs. Hilda VandeWater and Leon of Eureka; Mrs. Perry LaBounty of Bloomington; Mr. And Mrs. Dewayne Lake of
Chebanse; Dr. and Mrs. R.E.Squires; Mrs. John Boyle, Miss Anna B. Wilson, Mrs.
Elizabeth Jennings, Mrs. Clair Bishop, Mr. And Mrs. Brown of Piper City; Mr.
And Mrs. George Haling and daughters Mrs. Elmer Dindgledine and Mrs. Edna
Stanley and Mrs. Iva Cramer of Peoria.
Mr. And Mrs. Robert Adamson and Mr. And Mrs. Peter Anderson of Paxton;
Mr. And Mrs. Willard Kenward and Forrest Thompson of Melvin; Mrs. Angeline
Haling, Mr. And Mrs. Russell Frazee, Mr. And Mrs. George Wallis, Harry Kenward,
Mrs and Mrs. William havens, Mr. And Mrs. John Woodward and James Goodrich of
Thawville; Mr. And Mrs. L. C. Ringeisen, Gibson City; Mr. Lindelhof of
Sibley;Mrs. And mrs. George Lee of Strawn; Mrs. George Smith and Mrs. Al Smith
of Onarga.