Elizabeth {Betty} Ridgway Foster

Elizabeth (Betty) Ridgway Foster, of Manchester, passed away at Carroll Hospice Dove House on Saturday, April 4, 2009, at the age of 74.

She was the loving wife of Earl D. Foster for 36 years before he predeceased her in 1990.

Betty was born April 15, 1934, in the farmhouse in which she was raised, in Belle Vernon, Pa., to Jack Winfred Ridgway and Rose Caroline Bautz Ridgway.

She was predeceased by her two siblings, John Ridgway of Belle Vernon, Pa., and Ruth Joy Glascock of Colorado Springs, Colo. After graduating high school, she and her sister came to Washington, where she found employment and her husband working for the government. Betty and Earl married in 1954, and in 1959, settled down in Rockville until the 1990s.

Betty took several years off from work to raise her two sons, but soon returned to work as an attendance secretary, guidance secretary and principal's secretary at E. Brook Lee Jr. High School and Brookhaven Elementary School in Montgomery County. After retiring, she lived several years in Monrovia, where she was a member of Providence United Methodist Church.

She eventually settled in Manchester.

She was an avid reader of mysteries, could do crossword puzzles like no one else, loved to cook for her family and was famous for her homemade candy, chocolate and lasagna, all made from scratch. She loved to spend time with her family telling stories, playing cards or reminiscing about her childhood.

Betty is survived by her two sons, Jay Foster and his wife, Terri, of Frederick, and Jon Foster and his wife, Edie, of Westminster.

She is also survived by one very special niece, Susan Vervaeke and her husband, Tom, of Colorado Springs; and a family friend she thought of as a stepson, Tom Jackson and his wife, Joy, of Laytonsville. She enjoyed reading and playing with the sunshine of her life, her grandson, Robbie; as well as telling stories to her two stepgrandchildren, Heather Krumpe and Nick Mowel; and her one step-great-grandchild, Gavin Krumpe.

She will be remembered as a devoted wife, and a loving mother and grandmother.

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 6.

Services: Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, at Stauffer Funeral Home, 8 E. Ridgeville Blvd., Mount Airy. Interment will take place immediately following the services at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Dove House of Carroll Hospice, 292 Stoner Ave., Westminster, MD 21157.