Mercia Joy Foster

Mercia Joy (Bailey) Foster, 76, of Mt. Pleasant, died on November 21, 2025, surrounded by the love of her family.

Mercia was born on December 30, 1948, in Niles, Michigan, the daughter of Rev. Lester Charles and Helen Pauline (Mason) Bailey. From an early age, she carried a creative spark and a talent for lifting others through joyful love, a gift she would go on to share generously throughout her life.

She graduated from Ionia High School in 1967 and received her bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 1970. While in college, she performed in many theatre productions, winning the best actress award in 1969, and was a member of the Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society.

She married the love of her life, David, on December 27, 1974, in South Haven. Together they built a life centered on family, faith, service, and learning. Their home was warm, welcoming, and often filled with music and laughter.

Mercia's passion for education shaped both her career and her legacy. A gifted and deeply dedicated teacher, she inspired students across Michigan and Iowa for more than four decades. While she taught at the high school and college levels, she was so passionate about elementary foreign language learning that she earned further certification to focus her career on that level. She always led her classes with innovative curriculum, including creating an airport environment where her students brought luggage for imaginary foreign travel and building a full-scale rainforest in an empty mall store to fundraise for rainforest conservation. She guided classrooms in Charles City, Mason City (North Iowa Area Community College), and Nora Springs, Iowa; Covert High School, Midland Academy of Advanced and Creative Studies, Mt. Pleasant High School, and Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant. Her commitment to her students and her craft earned her statewide recognition with the Iowa Foreign Language Association (IFLA) Outstanding Educator Award Elementary Level (1998-99) and the Michigan (MFLA) Teacher of the Year Award for Excellence in Elementary School Foreign Language Education (2003). She was also selected as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher to Uruguay (2007). These honors spoke to the countless lives she touched with her warmth, creativity, and belief in the potential of every learner. She continued her own education with enthusiasm as well, returning to her alma mater, Central Michigan University, to earn her master's degree in 2002. She was proud to have studied abroad in her programs, traveling to Mexico, Spain, Chile, and Uruguay.

Mercia was endlessly creative. She made many of her own clothes, including her wedding dress and, later, dresses for the weddings of her sisters and her daughters. She treasured long walks and laughing with friends, dancing, singing with her family (especially the Foster Family Four quartet), and playing with words. She sang in church choirs for more than 30 years and enriched every community she belonged to with her contagious joy.

Community service was a cornerstone of Mercia's life. She was a lifelong devoted member of the United Methodist Church and an active, passionate member of the Kiwanis Club of Mount Pleasant. As an immediate past president, Kiwanis advisor to the K-Kids at Sacred Heart Academy, and recipient of several Kiwanis honors, she embodied the organization's mission of service and kindness. She was awarded with a National Society of Collegiate Scholars honorary membership for her work with Kids Against Hunger, an Eagle Award from the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce (2018), and an Outstanding Mentor Award from the Michigan District of Key Club International (2025). Her work, whether in the classroom or the community, was always marked by her belief in nurturing young people and strengthening the world around her.

Above all, Mercia cherished her family. She is survived by her beloved husband, David; her daughters and sons-in-law, Alana and Tom Abbott of Branford, CT, and Tura and Justin Gillespie of Alexandria, VA; her treasured grandchildren, Helen and Nathaniel Abbott; and her siblings, Linnea Oswald of Kalamazoo, Charles and Shana Bailey of Belmont, and Celeste and David Flood of Mattawan. She is also survived by extended family, friends, colleagues, and students, who held a special place in her heart. She was preceded in death by her parents and by siblings-in-law Paul Oswald, Ken Foster, and Joe and Pam Foster.

Mercia built a life filled with love, compassion, and an unwillingness to accept that anything was impossible ("Monolingualism can be cured!"). She mentored countless students and future educators, and she empowered others with her kindness, her passion, and her joy. Those who knew her will remember not only what she accomplished, but how deeply she cared, and how freely she offered her hugs.

The family is planning a Celebration of Life in the Spring of 2026, when new life spreads over her gardens. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mt. Pleasant Kiwanis Club Administrative Fund, First United Methodist Church of Mt. Pleasant, or the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.