Foster Eugene Green, 71; Douglas, Wyoming
“If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.”
– Emile Zola
Foster Green lived out loud. From the time he was born on June 27, 1945, in Alliance, NE, until his recent death, he lived a Big Life. He was kind-hearted, funny, feisty, & flirted with all the waitresses. He always had a twinkle in his eye, & a joke or a story to share. He loved his Wyoming mountains. He loved his Nebraska Cornhuskers. He loved dogs, babies, & John Wayne movies. He devoured Louis L’Amour novels. He was kind to everyone. And he didn’t know a stranger. He had so many friends, people lovingly referred to him as “The Unofficial Mayor of Douglas.” He was an exceptional father & husband. In fact, he was so good at being a husband, that he became one three times. So how did this lover of women, wilderness, nature, & dogs begin his Big Life? Who was Foster Green? Who was the man, the myth, the legend?
When he was a child, his family moved to a farm near Glen, NE. There he lived out a ‘Davy Crockett’ childhood with 3 sisters and 2 brothers: fishing from the White River, riding his horse to the one-room schoolhouse, learning to hunt, & running wild among the buttes & pine trees.
He graduated from Crawford High School in 1963 & married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Limbach (Wife #1). Together, they rambled around a bit, went to Montana for a spell, then settled in Omaha, where they happily raised 5 children. Foster worked for a short time as a milkman for Robert’s Dairy, then for a long time as a lineman for the Omaha Public Power District. Wanting the kind of small town life for their own children that they themselves had enjoyed, they moved back to Crawford, NE in 1975, where Foster worked as a lineman for Dawes County. Then, something new: Foster and Barb became owners and operators of The Corner Bar in Crawford. Here he cheered on his Husker football team, & continued to make countless friends. But after a number of years in the lively bar business, their marriage dissolved, as marriages often do, and Fos moved to Douglas, Wyoming.
In Wyoming, a true Mountain Man was born. He became a signal maintainer for Burlington Northern, a job which he enjoyed for 29 years. He caught the eye of Kim Jensen (Wife #2), with his unique humor & fashion sense. Together they happily raised 3 children along the banks of the North Platte River near Orin Junction. Known for his skill in carpentry and electrical work, Fos became known as “Mr. Fix It,” and it was true: the man had an innate ability to create anything out of particle board. He made vast home improvements to his Orin Junction home, built countless sheds, garages, & buildings, and could wire, fix and repair anything.
He was also famous for his innocent pranks, practical jokes, and April Fool zingers. Always full of mischief, Fos lovingly teased everyone. He once convinced a child to taste a worm. No one was exempt from his shenanigans, but unsuspecting waitresses were a favorite target. Here is Foster’s famous Pie Routine (performed much to the embarrassment of his children):
Fos: What kind of pie you got?
Waitress: We’ve got apple, cherry, lemon, pecan, peach, rhubarb, and coconut.
Fos: I’ll have raisin.
Waitress: We don’t have raisin.
Fos: Well, what have you got?
Waitress: We’ve got apple, cherry, lemon, pecan, peach, rhubarb, and coconut.
Fos: I’ll have strawberry.
Waitress: We don’t have strawberry.
Fos: Well, what have you got? (repeat until the waitress figures out she’s being tricked)
Living near Orin Junction, Foster found joy collecting rocks, playing with his kids, creating beautiful vegetable gardens, & keeping chickens. But Foster and Kim eventually grew apart, as people sometimes do, & when his celebrity crush with Crystal Gayle never materialized, Fos found new joy with a kind and loving Kindergarten teacher named Carolyn Holt (Wife #3).
Friends for 25 years, Foster and Carolyn first met at Parent/Teacher Conferences. Years later, they enjoyed their first date at the Wyoming State Fair to see the Charlie Daniels Band. They were married on December 27, 2002, and began their life together in Carolyn’s house on Frontier Avenue in Douglas. Foster and Carolyn became very active in the Catholic Church, where Foster joined the Knights of Columbus. He was a past Grand Knight for the Douglas-Glenrock Chapter #6558. He began to enjoy more time “on the mountain,” where Carolyn has a yurt in the mountain community of Esterbrook. Here Fos built another small cabin with running water and electricity, and an enormous garage. He cut firewood, and spent time feeding the birds, chipmunks, & hummingbirds. He began to create unique feeders and birdhouses from fallen logs and natural materials that he would find on his frequent mountain hikes. From this hobby, a business was born: For The Birds. If you are lucky enough to own one of Foster’s artisan birdhouses, consider yourself blessed. These unique works of art are highly prized around Douglas, and Foster had a very long waiting list of folks who wanted one. Five of his birdhouse creations can be seen on the grounds of the Douglas Care Center.
Another hobby that he greatly enjoyed and shared with his youngest daughter, Summer, was to restore and bring to life antique cars. The two of them would spend hours together in the big garage on the mountain, turning rusty clunkers into beautiful, show-worthy machines.
Foster and Carolyn enjoyed Esterbrook together, taking in nature, birds, wildlife, & their beautiful view of Laramie Peak. Foster always said that Laramie Peak was growing, so one of his favorite things to say to Carolyn was, “Let’s go watch the mountain grow.” They also enjoyed traveling, and took trips to England, Australia, and Jamaica. Visiting their 23 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren also kept them busy.
A true Wyoming Renaissance Man, Foster could expertly track, shoot, & field dress a prize elk on Saturday, then can award-winning jams and jellies on Sunday. He was no stranger to winning blue ribbons for his beautiful jars of fruits, salsas, & vegetables for the Wyoming State Fair. He was also a top-notch cowboy chef, and could make anything in a cast iron skillet.
He was always up by sunrise, a cup of coffee in his hand. He kept a daily journal, he wrote poetry, he took time to see everything and everyone around him. Foster could often be seen driving around in his red truck with the Nebraska Fight Song horn, with his constant companion, a yellow lab named Eli, riding joyfully in back.
“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning.” – Louis L’Amour
Foster became unexpectedly sick with aggressive pancreatic cancer, and was lovingly called back up to his mountain at sunrise, on a bright, clear fall morning on November 12, 2016. He passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by his wife, his children, and his dog. Although Foster’s Big Life on earth is finished, we have a feeling it’s only the beginning of his new adventures.
Foster is survived by loving wife Carolyn Green of Douglas, WY; eight children (and their spouses): Mary Theresa Green (Tony) of Alliance, NE; Stephani Pelton (Ed) of Chadron, NE; Amy Jensen (Ed) of Alliance, NE; Eric Green of Tekamah, NE; Natalie Miller (Shawn) of Lakeside, NE; Malynda Fawn Mabbitt (Floyd) of Brookings, SD; Derrek Green of Laramie, WY; Summer Green of Denver, CO; step-sons Seth Holt (Carrie) of Atkinson, NE; and Tom Holt of Douglas, WY. Foster’s legacy also includes 23 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. In addition, he and Carolyn hosted an exchange student from Australia, Rebecca Robinson, who is like a daughter to them. He is also survived by siblings RayDene Cline of Glen, NE; Gerry Green Shannon & Steve Green, both of Crawford, NE; DeeAnn Jardon of Kearney, NE; and Kelly Green of Palmyra, NE; many nieces and nephews, countless friends, & his beloved yellow lab, Eli.
A rosary will be held at 7:00 pm on Friday, November 18, 2016, at 7:00 pm at Gorman Funeral Home in Douglas. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 19, 2016, at the St. James Catholic Church in Douglas, followed by a Celebration of Life party. Foster will be laid to rest at 1:00 pm on Sunday, November 20, 2016, near his boyhood home in the cemetery in Glen, Nebraska.
SPECIAL NOTE: “Get Up, Husker Nation! It’s Game Day!” Since Foster’s funeral service will be held on a Husker Game Day, the family is requesting that guests wear either Nebraska football or Wyoming Cowboy attire to the services. Let’s honor Foster by wearing his two favorite teams’ colors, t-shirts, and sweatshirts! Go Huskers! Go Cowboys!
Donations may be sent to the Foster Green Memorial Fund, in care of the Converse County Bank in Douglas, WY, or in Foster’s name to the Knights of Columbus Scholarship Fund, in care of the K.O.C. Douglas-Glenrock Chapter #6558, St. James Catholic Church, Douglas, WY.
As Foster believed: “Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life.” – Natalie Babbitt
Compiled and written with love by his oldest daughter, Mary T. Green