Ann Marie Foster (nee Bullen)

July 5, 1937 - November 12, 2022
In Loving Memory ~
Ann Marie Foster died peacefully on Saturday, November 12th, 2022, at the Glacier View Lodge (Special Care Unit). She was 85.
Ann was born in Windsor, Ontario, to Edna and Robert Bullen. She was the youngest of 4 children, which included sisters Joyce and Glenora and brother Bob.
Her father Robert worked for 35 years at the Ford Motor Company in Windsor.
Upon completing grade 13 at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in 1955, Ann moved to Toronto, to study and graduate from Ryerson College, as an Early Childhood Educator.
A zest for travel, adventure, and learning, led her to England to work as a Nanny and eventually back to Canada and out west to Vancouver, B.C. This is where she met, on a blind date, her future husband Eric, also a teacher and they were married in 1963. Together they had 3 children, Julie, Mitchell, and Colin.
After stints living in places such as Mayne Island, Cloverdale, and the Yukon, Ann and her family settled in the Comox Valley in 1975, where she worked for over 20 years at the Child Development Center (Association).
Once retiring from the CDC, she did respite care for special needs children, well into her 70s. She also provided her valuable experience as a Volunteer for Senior Peer Counselling.
Some of Ann's hobbies and pleasures were antiquing, small household repairs, meeting new people, walking, listening to CBC Radio, and to folk, Celtic and jazz music, especially Don Shirley. She also liked to read and to watch TV. One of her favourite shows was The Big Bang Theory.
Ann Foster was a compassionate person, an independent spirit, and a loyal friend. She was a bundle of energy with a big smile and a great laugh. She was a creative and caring educator, a devoted Mother, and an awesome Mother-in-Law to Gary (Bell).
She was also very proud and adoring of her granddaughters Amber and Crystal. Ann believed in bringing the best out of people and more often than not, did just that.
Ann will be missed by many: which include her relatives from Ontario, her good friends Jeanne Sandilands, Marilyn "Petie" Gillies, Ev, Warren, and Alexis (and the Anderton family), as well as the Bell family.
Much thanks and appreciation to Dr. Rachel McKenzie, Glacier View Lodge (esp. Special Care Unit) and Brenda Levirs (Bell).
An informal, Open House, Celebrating Ann's Life, will be held at 1140A Edgett Road, Courtenay, on Saturday, March 18, from 2 - 4 p.m. Snacks will be provided.
Any donations can be sent to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. (https://alzheimer.ca) and/or to the Child Development Association (www.cvcda.ca)