Obituary of Ivan William Foster
Ivan William Foster was born September 21, 1939, in Pine, Mo, to Willie and Zelma Foster. He passed away on April 16, 2025, in Moscow. He was 85 years old.
Ivan grew up in Donaphin, Mo., where he attended Donaphin Elementary and Donaphin High School. He learned to work at a young age, both in logging and at his father’s sawmill. Ivan and his family moved to Emida, Id., when he was 16 years old. The sawmill was set up on the outskirts of town, and Ivan continued to work for his father. While in Emida, he attended St. Maries High School through the 11th grade. Ivan earned his high school equivalency while serving in the Army.
He married Caron Ells on June 2, 1960, at First Christian Church in Coeur d’Alene. After his marriage, he began logging, working for the Post Falls Lumber Company and Renfro Logging, among others.
In 1963, Ivan was inducted into the United States Army, doing his basic training at Fort Ord in California. He spent the remainder of his service at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. In 1964, while in Texas, his daughter, Deborah, was born.
After his discharge from the military, the family returned to Emida, where he continued to log. A son, Randy, joined the family in 1969.
In 1968, he changed careers and took his first job in road construction. There he found his niche and worked all over the northwest. He worked on many major projects, including the realignment of the highway up to the Memorial Bridge in Coeur d’Alene, the reconstruction of St. Joe Road, clearing for Dworshak Dam, and many others. He then found work in laying pipelines, which took him to many places across Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, and Iowa. He was a proud member of the International Union of the Operating Engineers Local 370, which later merged with Local 302. He was honored in 2019 at a luncheon and presented with a gold watch to commemorate his 50 years in the union.
In 2019, Ivan and Caron moved into a new home in Moscow with their daughter. He was happy to start a new chapter but missed being close to the woods.
Ivan took great pride in his children, Debbie and Randy. Though he was often away working, he would hurry back to Emida to attend as many of Randy’s high school games as he could. He was very proud of both of his children being college graduates with successful professional careers. His three granddaughters – Logan, Parker, and Hayden – brought great joy to him in his older years. He would always take them to parks when they asked, enjoyed attending their sporting or dance events, and loved to cater to their every whim. He especially loved going out for a meal after every event with the girls.
Ivan loved to hunt, to ride through the woods on his four-wheeler, and to take long drives to see elk and deer. He loved photography – especially photographing wildlife and scenery. He loved displaying his photos and sharing pictures with his loved ones. Ivan was skilled at identifying different types of wildlife and could tell you what type of bird was in any picture he took.
Ivan was preceded in death by his parents, William and Zelma, and his siblings Edith, Sharon, Loretta, and Roger. He is survived by his wife Caron of Moscow; daughter, Deborah, of Moscow; son Randy (Dori) of Lewiston; granddaughters Logan, Parker, and Hayden, of Lewiston; siblings Darrell (Kathy) Foster of Salem, Ore., and Judy (Bill) Moore, of Omaha, Neb.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Thank you to Ivan’s caregiver Venessa Sturing, for providing the loving care of him. We are also grateful for the loving care provided by the Hospice Nursing, along with the Entire Neighborhood Family assisting.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 1:00 pm at Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries. Graveside services will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery with a gathering of family at the Eagles Lodge in St. Maries afterwards.
