Helen Foster

Helen Marie Foster, 83, Topeka, KS died on Sunday, August 19 at her home.  Helen was born April 7, 1924 in Philadelphia, PA, the daughter of Cornelius and Helen Marie O’Sullivan McLaughlin.  Shortly after she received her nursing degree from the University of Pennsylvania, she married Dr. Charles G. Foster May 24, 1947 in Ridley Park, PA.  She moved to Winfield, Kansas in 1954 with her husband and family where he practiced medicine.  They later moved to Concordia, Kansas in 1959.  When her children were teenagers, Helen returned to nursing.  She was a nurse in Concordia, Kansas as well as Memorial Hospital, Stormont-Vail Hospital, and Menningers in Topeka, Kansas.  Helen was a survivor of the I-35 Turnpike Flood of 2003 and was pulled from her car by a good Samaritan shortly before it was swept away.  Helen was a devout Catholic and a member of Christ the King Church in Topeka, Kansas since its inception and was a founding member of the Topeka Serra Club.  She volunteered at Christ the King Church and the Marian Clinic.  Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Charles G. Foster and her son, Charles F. Foster.  Survivors include her brother Cornelius McLaughlin of Richmond, VA and five children; Emily Foster, Lawrence, Kansas; Peter and Joyce Foster, Auburn, Kansas; Mimi Jakobe and her husband Bob, Phoenix Maryland; Anne Cullins and her husband Steve, Wichita, Kansas; Fred Foster, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Friday at Christ the King Church.  Burial will follow in Mount Calvary Cemetery.  Helen will lie in state after 2:00 p.m. Thursday at the Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home where the family will receive from 2 to 7:00 p.m. with a Parish and Topeka Serra Club rosary being prayed at 7:00 p.m.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Marian Clinic at 1001 SW Garfield, Topeka, KS 66604 or the Charles Goddard Foster Memorial Scholarship at Stormont -Vail School of Nursing at 1500 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66604.

Helen was known for her vivacious personality, boundless enthusiasm and lifelong desire to help others.  She will be sorely missed.