Mary Foster's Obituary
Mary Foster lived a life full of love, laughter, and faith. For Mary, family was always the center
of her heartfelt concern, family was her pride, and family was the principle drive in her life. She
was born on January 11, 1921, somewhere within Hardin County, Tennessee to Jess & Lella
Snodgrass. As a child, she was fearless in her play with her three other siblings (Arch, Midge,
and Edith) as they explored & learned about the wilderness in which they lived. At that time
and in that part of the country, they were living the outdoors, hilly-billy lifestyle. For Mary, there
wasn’t a tree too tall for her to climb, or a body of water that she couldn’t figure a way to build
a raft and cross.
At age 9 (circa 1930), she and her younger sister (Edith) went to live with their aunt & uncle after
the early passing of their mother due to pneumonia. It was with her aunt & uncle that Mary &
Edith were exposed to the Christian faith and what it meant to be a believer. For the remainder
of her days, Mary put her faith and trust in the Lord and nurtured those qualities within her
children.
At age 16, she married Bob White in Hardin County, Tennessee. Together, and for 39 years
they built a family and a cotton, soybean, wheat, and watermelon farming business. From that
marriage, Mary gave birth to nine children, where Mary & Bob were blessed with seven of them
being healthy and surviving past infancy. Mary ran her home and served her family with
diligence, tenacity, and resourcefulness. She made it a priority to raise her children in the
church with faith & integrity.
In the mid 1970s, Mary relocated to Dallas, Texas to be close to most of her children. It was in
her new home of Dallas that Mary would live and thrive for the remainder of her days. Weekly
dancing, family parties, community game events, traveling with friends, care-giving for
grandchildren, and weekly visits with her children and their spouses became her lifestyle. In
Dallas and in 1994, she met & married her running partner of 16 years, John Foster. They sang,
they played games, they travelled, they laughed, and worshipped together as they built a loving
friendship through the years. John passed away in June 2010. It was with John that Mary
spent some of her happiest & care-free days. For the remainder of her years she would
express her love for John and the warmth & kindness that he shared to her during their
marriage.
After the loss of John and at age 90, Mary started the next chapter of her life. For around a
decade she resided within a retirement community in Richardson, Texas. Mary’s days were
filled with games, entertainment, good food & sweets, puzzle books, and host to weekly visits
from her children & grandchildren. Compared to other residents within the community, Mary
stood out to all that she would meet. She had a big personality and wasn’t shy about striking
up a conversation with a stranger. The retirement administrators recruited her to serve as a
community ambassador for new residents & guests. Mary took pride in connecting with
people in this way, and looking good while doing it. Mary’s grandkids and children always kept
her gifted with clothing & jewelry so she could feel her best and have her fellow female
residents bedazzled by the different looks she could put together.
Mary always stressed the importance of keeping the mind active. She made it part of her daily
ritual to include games & puzzles, and attributed them in keeping her mind as sharp as it was
through her golden years. Just over a week before her passing at 101, Mary was winning at
dominos.
Since the passing of her mother, Mary was always nervous when it came to being alone. In
2020 the Pandemic hit and the world changed. For the first time in her life, Mary was required
to quarantine in her room for over a year. Not being allowed to leave her room for games or
community events had an impact in her overall health & well-being. She moved to her final
residence in April of 2021. Over time, the restrictions lightened and Mary was able to receive
visits from her children & grandchildren once more, which meant the most to her at that point in
her life. Mary passed without pain, in her sleep, and not alone on June 16, 2022. Just the way
she wanted it!
Mary was a strong-willed person and when she made her mind up, either by hook or by crook
it was going to get done. She may not know how to do it but she was always quick to recruit
the right individuals that could. Mary had an unshakable love for her family and an unrivaled
confidence & belief in the abilities and quality of her children’s character. It came natural for
her to be the rock in their lives. Their biggest supporter. Their mother.
Mary’s legacy is her family. She is going to be missed & is survived by her children & spouses
(James & Dorothy White, Frankie Jean Veasey, Hugh White, Don & Janet White, Connie &
Johnny Marino, and Ronnie & Vickie White). She is preceded in death by daughter Mattie Inez
Michael. Mary is survived by twelve grandchildren (Debbie Williams, Judy White, Mark White,
Vickie Coker, Michael Veasey, Joy Jarrett, Brian White, Tara Eaves, David White, Christopher
Borders, Randy White, and Mary Amber Shasteen). Mary is also survived by 15 great-grandchildren and 3 great, great-grandchildren.
What’s your fondest memory of Mary?
What’s a lesson you learned from Mary?
Share a story where Mary's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Mary you’ll never forget.
How did Mary make you smile?
