Richard Wilson Foster
Much loved husband, father and grandfather, died on Friday, February 18, 2022, on his 79th birthday after a long illness. Born in 1943 on a Navy base in New Orleans in the middle of World War II, he was the son of Albert D. Foster and Jean (Davis) Foster. His father, a Navy pilot, died when he was seven years old in a tragic aviation accident and his mother later remarried Robert M. Foster. He was raised in Andover, MA, where he played ice hockey and attended Phillips Academy. He graduated from Yale University, majoring in English literature, and Columbia University, where he earned a Masters of International Relations and was active in the civil rights movement. After completing a Fulbright scholarship in Brazil, a country that fully captured his heart and imagination, he became a journalist. He reported for the Lancaster New Era, the Associated Press in New York and in 1977 became the AP’s foreign correspondent in Brasilia, the capitol of Brazil. In his two decades there, he also wrote for The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times of London. With his brother, Stephen, he founded Brazil Watch, an economic and political newsletter that grew to include editions across Latin America and in Asia. In 1996, he returned to the U.S, settling in Gaithersburg where he taught English at Montgomery College and was a passionate union organizer for adjunct faculty. In his final years, he relished writing fiction. One of the biggest delights of his life was publishing his first novel, “Topiltzin at Calakmul,” with illustrations by his daughter, Ariel, in 2021. He was a deeply funny man, a voracious reader and thinker, an insightful listener who cared deeply about the lives of his six daughters, and a goofy “Pop-Pop” who made his grandchildren laugh.He is survived by his beloved wife, Etna P. Cavalcante of Gaithersburg, MD; daughters, Heath D. Foster (Kevin Trombold) of Seattle, WA, Sarah F. Rhea (Clifton) of Baltimore, MD, Lila S. Foster of Brasilia, Nana S. Foster of Sao Paulo, Nastassia F.W. Siqueira (Alexander) of Florianopolis, Brazil, and Ariel C. Foster of Gaithersburg, MD; nine grandchildren, Sophia F. Trombold, Katharine A. Trombold, Augustus C. Trombold, Hannah W. Rhea, Gabrielle D. Rhea, Amelia D. Rhea, Betina F. Polydoro, Tui F. Siqueira and Ziggy W. Siqueira. In addition, he leaves his siblings, Jo-Anwyl F. Keefe of Portsmouth, NH, Stephen Foster of Washington, DC, Laurellen Foster (Roger Wardwell) of Sarasota, FL; niece Olivia D. Keefe, and nephews Evan F. Myers and Reid H. Myers.
A gathering in Dick’s honor will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 2 p.m. at the historic Bumper Car Pavilion at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD.
Published by The Washington Post on Mar. 6, 2022.