John W. "Jack" Foster

1938 - 2022

John W. "Jack" Foster

March 13, 1938 - February 1, 2022

John William "Jack" Foster, of Perrysburg, beloved husband, father, and friend, passed away quietly at his home surrounded by his wife and children on February 1, 2022. His dog Pepper was also with him to the end.

Jack was born March 13, 1938, at Toledo Hospital. He was raised in Eagle Point Colony, Rossford, then settled in Perrysburg after graduating college in 1960. In childhood Jack met Joan Helen McAuley who would, on August 16, 1958, become his wife. He attended The Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut, from 1952 to 1956, and Yale University in New Haven, where he graduated in 1960 with a B.S. in Industrial Administration –the only graduate that year with two babies. He returned to Perrysburg after graduation where he was a partner at Foster Brothers, Weber & Co. for 18 years.

Jack spearheaded the brokerage firm's transition to the digital world, switching the firm from manual to computerized accounting and inventory, a change that revealed his true calling as a computer programmer. After becoming proficient in IBM programming, Jack, an entrepreneur at heart, founded his own programming company. Later, with long-term associate and friend, Tom Verner, he created a small company, Foster and Verner, Inc., which would merge with AKTion Associates, a "friendly competitor" in the area's burgeoning computer

consulting business.

Jack always considered himself a lucky man. He wanted his memory to include his love of family, golf, tennis, and snorkeling. For years, he played poker and bridge, as a skilled and tactical player with ever-shifting groups of friends. Most of all, he said, he "loved Joanie." However, his family wishes to acknowledge that Jack was a generous, hardworking, and supportive man. He worked closely with son John for over 20 years at AKTion Associates and was best man at the marriage of John to Cheryl Andrus in 2009. All of his children and grandchildren recall a man who loved to arrange summer vacations on Lake Michigan or at Eaton's Ranch in Wolf, Wyoming. Jack loved the natural world and shared his love of butterflies, flowers, and the woods not just through travels with children and wife but also in his art and personal hobbies.

In addition to his cherished wife, Jack is survived by what he called his "three great children," Elizabeth Matsuda (Glen), John Foster, Jr. (Cheryl), and Lynn Reilly (Allen), as well as his "outstanding grandchildren," William Reilly (Lauren), Ruby Zucker (Kevin Gengler), Matthew Reilly (Amina Taylor), Alison Reilly, and Harriet Zucker. While his recent health prevented him from getting to know his three little great-grandchildren, Owen and Liam Reilly and Cora Gengler, we know he would have taken equal delight and pride in them. The middle of three sons, Jack is survived by his younger brother, Steve (Kay). Jack was predeceased by his parents, Oscar and Aitchie France Foster, also of Perrysburg, and by his older brother, Fritz.

His family will always be grateful for the kind and dignified care provided by several caregivers as well as staff from Friends of the Family Home Care and Ohio Living Hospice. No visitation will be held. A Celebration of Life is planned for later in the year. Jack was a lifelong reader and regular visitor to the Way Public Library. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Way Public Library, 101 E. Indiana Ave., Perrysburg, Ohio 43551. Online condolences may be shared at walkerfuneralhomes.com

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