Clara Marie Foster

On December 3, 1933, Clara was born in a house outside of Marquam, Oregon, to Bert and Adeline Hubbard. Her mother died a few hours later due to complications with the birth, and she was initially given her mother’s name Adeline Marie Hubbard. As a widower raising three older children (Melvin, Leona, and Geneva), her father turned to his niece Vivienne for help. She and her husband Raleigh Harold raised her as their own and even changed her name to Clara Marie Harold. She was welcomed into her new family which also consisted of her brothers Ray and Vilas and later on her sister Kathleen. After initially living in a farm house in Linn County, the family moved to West Washington Street in Stayton, where they later operated a florist shop and nursery. Despite the challenges of growing up during the Depression and WWII, Clara had a happy and industrious childhood. She loved going to movies and auctions with her dad where they would visit with everyone and try and find a few good bargains. She picked berries and beans with her mom, and started her first business as a little girl, when she discovered she could make good money babysitting. She also started a lifelong pattern of learning and mastering creative activities such as crocheting, stamp collecting, post card collecting, sewing, ceramics, and painting.  In 1951, Clara met Bill Foster from Scio on a blind date (but not with each other). After dating a while, Bill enlisted in the Navy and Clara started to work for the State of Oregon. While home on leave Bill and Clara got engaged. When Bill was sent to Hawaii, Clara later joined him (her first flight). They were married on Valentine’s Day 1952, where they started their new life together exploring the island and making new friends. In November 1952, their son Stan joined them on their adventure. After more than a year in Hawaii, the young family was redeployed to Southern California, where Clara learned to drive. In March of 1955, Bill left the Navy and they returned to the Willamette Valley where their daughter Lynda was born in November of that year. Settling in Salem, Clara returned to working for the State of Oregon while Bill held down a number of jobs before finally settling in at PGE. In 1957, Bill and Clara celebrated two major events in their lives. In June, their second daughter, Cynda was born and in December they purchased and moved into their house on Terrace Drive in West Salem, where Clara would live for the next 59 years. In 1959, their second son, Rich was born and a couple of years later Bill went to work for Salem Electric, where he remained until retirement.  Clara was extremely active in the lives of her children as well as kids throughout West Salem. In addition to being a Den Mother, Blue Bird Leader, and Room Mother; Clara regularly attended her children’s sporting events, plays, recitals, and field trips. Sometime in the 1960’s, the Principal of West Salem Elementary approached Clara requesting that she develop and operate a pre-school program. Thus “Story Time” was born and for nine years children throughout West Salem got school ready under her guidance. During the summer months Clara also was a steady presence. Serving as a Row Boss and Platoon Leader, many children’s first job was under the watchful eye of “Mrs. Foster” as they mastered the art of picking strawberries, blackberries, and beans.  As the approach to harvesting crops changed and her children got older, Clara looked for a new challenge. In the early 1970s, Clara took a cake decorating class at Walker Jr. High. Within a few years, she had launched “Clara’s Clever Cakes” and was doing a great business. By 1978, her business had grown so much that they built a second kitchen in the basement of the Terrace Drive house to serve as her bakery. She continued making cakes for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions until the summer of 1993, when her and Bill both retired on the same weekend. After delivering her final cake, Bill and Clara went to their vacation home in LaPine where they spent their time fishing, sitting on their deck watching baseball on TV, and visiting with neighbors. For the next decade, Clara and Bill would travel the U.S. and Canada in the spring, go to LaPine in the Summer, take another trip in the fall, before returning to Terrace Drive for winter and the holidays. While back in Salem, Clara pursued two new hobbies, genealogy and photo editing on the computer. After Bill’s passing in 2003, Clara turned to the Salem Senior Center to keep her engaged and involved. Not surprisingly, Clara soon became a teacher at the Senior Center, served on the Advisory Board, and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year. Clara continued to be active at the Senior Center until issues with her eyesight made it no longer possible. Faced with diminishing eyesight and the challenges of living in a three-story house in the hills of West Salem, Clara moved to Dallas Retirement Village in January of 2017, where she lived until her passing.  Clara is preceded in death by her husband Bill Dean Foster, parents Raleigh and Vivienne Harold, birth-parents Bert and Adeline Hubbard, siblings Melvin, Leona, Ray, Vilas, and Geneva. She is survived by her sister Kathleen Jaquet of Moclipse, WA.; and her children Stan Foster (Vanessa Jordan) of Bend, Lynda Barrett (Pat) of Dallas, Cynda Foster (David Jarrell) of Hopewell, and Rich Foster (Cathy Jones-Foster) of West Salem. She is also survived by her 6 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. At Clara’s request, the family will hold a private remembrance celebration on Paulina Peak overlooking Clara’s much-loved East Lake, sometime in the spring or summer of 2022. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations to the Salem Center 50+, information is available on the City of Salem’s website or by calling 503-588-6303.