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Jimmy was the
eldest son of English, immigrant parents Richard Foster
and Esther Chapman. When his father went off to war in 1914, the
mother and four small children, 1 to 6 years, lived on Forbes St. It
was a very difficult time for a young family in a new county.
Jimmy remembers 1916 when there was a "big snow" and the army was
called in to clear the snow off the streetcar lines on Cook Street. Jimmy had his first job delivering for a Cook Street butcher when he was 9 years old. He attended Victoria's Central Boy's School until age 14, then took full time work as a "butcher boy" for a couple of years. About 1927, a man named Roland Powell offered him a job in the hardware business. The 10 years of world depression struck when Jimmy was in his twenties. Jimmy dug ditches and laid pipe in Saseenos at 7¢ a foot; he worked in the Safeway fruit and vegetables and butchered at the Hudson's Bay store. He drove a truck at $10 a week when a haircut cost 25¢ and you could buy a meal in Chinatown for 35¢. One of his regular stops was the public library where he met future wife Hazel who earned $65 a month as a librarian. The romance lasted 5 long years until 1939 when the couple married and used Hazel's pension money to buy a house on Wollaston Street in Esquimalt, where she had grown up. For Jimmy, home ownership was very special, since the Foster family had always rented. About the same time he began his 35 year career with Mac and Mac Hardware on Government Street. |
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Jimmy and Hazel had an
active and fulfilling
retirement that began in 1976 when Jimmy reached 65. They both
loved to garden and spent many enjoyable hours during 63 years of
marriage cultivating vegetables and a huge collection of
perennials. They made many trips abroad to Europe, Asia,
Australia and the Middle East. Jimmy enjoyed salmon fishing
and had built his own boat. He kept a full shop of woodworking
tools and built many fine projects. Spouse: Mary Hazel Fairall, b. 6 January 1911 in Victoria, British Columbia Married 27 October 1939 in Victoria, British Columbia. |
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Jimmy's Obituary published December
11th in Times Colonist Born in Victoria, B.C. March 16, 1911, passed away suddenly on December 6, 2004, at the age of 93. Predeceased by his loving wife of 63 years, Mary Hazel (nee Fairall) and by his parents Richard and Esther Foster, his sisters Rhoda, Olive, Bessie and Elsie and his brother Dick. He will be greatly missed by his in-laws, Charles and Mary Fairall, nephew Barry ( Angie) Fairall, niece Dianne (Laurie) Daniel, nephew David (Joan) Foster, niece Carol Cullimore and numerous grand nieces and nephews. Jimmy had a sales career with Mac & Mac Hardware and Acklands. He and his wife loved to garden and to travel. He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him. There will be no service by request. Cremation. Flowers are gratefully declined. Those wishing to remember Jimmy's life may make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice.
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