Joanne Eileen Foster's Obituary
Joanne Eileen Foster died on October 12, 2019. She was born Joanne Eileen Bliss on September 30,1943, in Tacoma, WA. Joanne was the oldest of five children. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma in 1961, ranked number one in her class. She received a full-ride academic scholarship to Washington State University. Joanne postponed college and instead got married and started her family. While raising her four children, Joanne completed her college studies, earning a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University, and later a master’s degree. She then began her career as a teacher at Elk Plain Elementary in Spanaway, WA.
In 1982 Joanne moved to Germany and continued her career teaching children of U.S military personnel for five years near the end of the Cold War. She then returned to the United States, moved to Vancouver, WA where she was a teacher in the Evergreen School District for several years. She resumed her foreign adventures, accepting a position with International Schools. She lived and worked in many distant counties, including Bahrain, Pakistan and Indonesia, and enjoyed experiencing the people and cultures of those places. She ended her career as a teacher at the Embassy Schools in Moscow, Russia. Joanne retired and purchased a condo in Tacoma’s Stadium District. Joanne beautifully decorated her home with many unique items she collected during her world travels. Joanne was an excellent seamstress and loved designing and making personalized quilts for her children and many grandchildren and great- grandchildren. She was very generous and was a thoughtful gift giver. Joanne is survived by her children Tammy, David, Michelle,and Kevin, many grandchildren and great grandchildren, brother Dave and sisters Marlene and Anita, and her beloved Shih Tzu Reilly. Joanne was preceded in death by her brother Gary. Her ashes will be interned at Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, WA.
A gathering for family and friends will be held at the Pine Room, 2811 6th Avenue, Tacoma, on November 3, 2019, at 2:00pm.
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