Charles M. Foster

STERLING – We are saddened to let everyone know that Charles M. Foster died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, July 18, 2019 in Sterling. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Malcolm and Henrietta and five sisters.
Born in Leominster on March 28, 1934, he lived his early life there and in Lowell, where he learned to love cars, earned the rank of Eagle Scout and graduated from Lowell High School before moving to and spending the rest of his life in Sterling.

In 1960 he married Barbara Greene of Sterling and over the next 59 years together they raised four children; Lisa SanMartino and her husband, John of Leesburg, FL, Stephen Foster and his wife, Peggy Leonard of North Yarmouth, ME, Debbie Foster of Bethel, ME, and Sandi Ricci and her husband, John of Westminster, MA. Charlie is also survived by six grandchildren who affectionately called him “Bumpa” including David Foster and his wife, Leslie of Bennington, NH, Geoff Cronan of Antrim, NH, Nathan Foster of Westbrook, ME, Andria Foster of Orono, ME, Christina Ricci of Wahiawa, HI and Nick Ricci of Westminster, MA; and three great-grandchildren including Damien and Peyton Cronan and Nyjah Manguba-Glover. He was also a well-loved uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Charlie was an extraordinarily hard working man. In 1993 he retired from New England Power Service Company (now National Grid) after working there for 33 years, starting as a welder in the Pratts Junction Yard in Sterling and finishing up as the transportation supervisor at the Westborough depot. For most of his life he also worked part-time driving trucks, fixing cars and transporting special needs kids.

A very large part of his life was dedicated to the service of others. Joining the Sterling Fire Department in 1957 he served as the department’s mechanic and worked his way up the ranks from Firefighter, retiring in 1993 as Assistant Chief. He was instrumental in upgrading the apparatus and was very proud the purchase of one of the first custom-built Mack engines in the area.

In addition to the Fire Department, Charlie was a founding member and Past President of the Sterling Firefighter’s Ambulance Service (now Sterling EMS). He and the other firefighters at the time were among the first 1,000 in the United States to gain National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians licenses.

When he wasn’t working he loved his time off. Family camping took up nearly all of his vacation time when his kids were growing up and as kids moved away, his love of camping continued and he and Barbara travelled in their motor home throughout much of the U.S. and Canada. They both have a particular fondness for Maine and spent many pleasurable weeks there. For years Charlie had boats and loved Lake Wauschacum in Sterling and Lake Pemaqquid in Maine and he burned a lot of gas pulling kids on water skis.
Anyone who knew Charlie also knew that he LOVED Mack trucks, Jeeps and anything Chrysler, Plymouth or Dodge.

After retirement Charlie was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. Despite this he was able to do many of the things he loved until it finally robbed him of his independence during the final years of his life.
Charlie’s family would like to thank the staff at Sterling Village. During two rehab stays and then during his final weeks, everyone there took exceptional care of him and for that we are grateful.
During his life Charlie was surrounded by a loving and dedicated spouse and a large family. He worked hard, served long and belched loud. We should all be that lucky.

In keeping with his wishes, there will be no funeral or formal memorial service. A family gathering will take place later this summer.
If Charlie touched your life in some way, please feel free to drop Barbara a note at P.O. Box 91, Sterling, MA 01564. If you would like to, donations in his memory should be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD, 21741-5014 or online at www.michaeljfox.org .

Arrangements are under the care of Miles-Sterling Funeral Home & Tribute Center, 100 Worcester Road, Sterling.