Published in the September 30, 2016 edition
MELROSE — Gladys (Oosterman) Foster, 93, a longtime resident of Melrose, passed away peacefully at the Oosterman Rest Home after a brief illness on Friday, Sept. 23.
Gladys was born in Whitinsville on March 30, 1923, and was one of five children of the late Grietsen Oosterman and Eva (VanderMeer) Oosterman. She was raised and educated in Whitinsville and went on to Smith College, where she graduated with a degree in Nursing. She then moved to Melrose, where her parents had opened the Oosterman Rest Home in 1946. Gladys began her working career as a registered nurse at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital and at the office of Dr. Kenneth McClaclan.
In 1949, she married Chester C. Foster Jr. in Pawtucket, R.I. They settled in Melrose to raise three sons while she continued her nursing career at the Oosterman Rest Homes.
Gladys was the beloved wife of the late Chester C. Foster Jr., with whom she shared 42 years of marriage. She was the devoted mother of Richard C. Foster and his wife Christine of Plaistow, N.H., Charles S. Foster of Gloucester and Kenneth A. Foster of Melrose. She was the dear sister of the late Gerald Oosterman, Henry Oosterman, Troy Oosterman and Betty Nydam. She was the cherished grandmother of Eric Foster of Plaistow, N.H.; the late Jason A. Foster; and great-grandmother of McKenna Foster.
Relatives and friends will gather for services privately at Riverside Cemetery in Pawtucket, R.I. For an online tribute, visit RobinsonFuneralHome.com.
