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Thomas
M. Foster, 73, of 118 Urbandale
Parkway, Rome, died on Wednesday,
January 2, 2008, at his home with
friends at his side. He was born on
April 1, 1934, in Great Barrington,
Massachusetts, the son of Paul and
Bessie Reed Foster.
If you, your parents or your children
attended Staley Junior High School,
chances are very good Tom Foster was
your art teacher. If you have attended
a performance at the Rome Community
Theater, chances are very good that
Tom Foster sold you a ticket at the
box office and that his name appeared
on the production program in at least
one major category. Tom Foster was a
graduate of the Massachusetts College
of Art with postgraduate study in
theater and art education at Syracuse
University and The State University of
New York College at Oswego. Tom's
first teaching assignment was at the
West Springfield, Massachusetts Junior
High School where he taught art for
one year in 1956. He then taught the
army something about art as he served
Uncle Sam from 1957 to 1959 in NATO.
Following his service career, Tom came
to Rome and started a very long tenure
as an art teacher at Staley Junior
High from 1959 to 1989. During that
time, he was named Outstanding Young
Educator by the Rome Jaycees. He also
received The Saul Lazovik Service to
the Arts Award and was honored by the
City of Rome for his contribution to
the arts. When he retired from Staley,
the Board of Education honored him by
naming the school auditorium Foster
Hall. During his years at Staley, Tom
also taught a ninth grade class in
theater and served as Director of the
Staley Music Theater for more than
twenty-five years.
It was sometime in the early 1960s
that Tom first volunteered at Rome
Community Theater. He recalled his
first assignment was helping to design
and build a stage set. Since that
time, he has been involved in just
about every aspect of theatrical
production both on and off stage. In
recent seasons, he directed "Meet Me
in St. Louis", "Little Me", "State
Fair", "Babes in Toyland",
"Follies","Tapestry", "The Pied
Piper", "Silk Stockings", "The
Floating Princess", and "The Shoemaker
and the Elves".. In addition to
directing, Tom served as costume
designer, consulting director, set
designer, scenic painter, and producer
for well over one hundred RCT
productions. Additionally, Tom used
his many talents to direct and produce
several benefit performances for the
Capitol Theatre, the Rome United Way,
and the Rome Heart Fund. Tom served as
a member of the Rome Community
Theater's board of directors and was
elected board president on seven
separate occasions. He was the
recipient of numerous Henry Awards.
Henry Awards are given each year for
outstanding production and acting
accomplishments. Continuing his
service to the arts and to Rome, Tom
organized and served as director for
the Voices of Rome. He also served as
a volunteer in many capacities at the
Rome Art and Community Center, the
Rome Art Association, and the Capitol
Theatre.
Surviving are his sister, Betty R.
Foster, of Great Barrington, MA; an
adopted grandson, Michael Carbone,
Newark, DE; several nieces, nephews
and many close friends who will always
hold him dear. Tom was predeceased by
a brother, Paul W. Foster in June
1996.
In keeping with Tom's wishes, private
services will be held at the
convenience of the family. Interment
will take place in Elmwood Cemetery in
Great Barrington, MA. Contributions in
Tom's memory may be made to the
charity of one's choice. Arrangements
have been entrusted to the Nunn and
Harper Funeral Home, Inc., 418 N.
George St., Rome.
Services: In keeping with Tom's
wishes, private services will be held
at the convenience of the family.
Interment will take place in Elmwood
Cemetery in Great Barrington, MA.
Contributions in Tom's memory may be
made to the charity of one's choice.
Arrangements have been entrusted to
the Nunn and Harper Funeral Home,
Inc., 418 N. George St., Rome.
background music - "staircase, part3"
- Keith Jarret |
