Thomas Foster

Thomas "Tom" Foster, age 74, of South Elgin, Illinois passed away on November 5th at Northwestern Medicine-Delnor Hospital in Geneva, IL after a battle with Covid-19. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.

Tom was raised by multiple family members as he was moved all over the country after his only parent, his mom, died at a very young age. Because of the early chaos in his life, he did not finish high school. Many people in this situation could have given up and chalked up their life to a poor upbringing, but not Tom. He had a work ethic that is rarely seen. Whatever he set his mind to; he worked his tail off to become successful. He started out in farming where he worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk. He always told the story that during those years, he would follow the fire trucks on his bike and really had dreams of being a firefighter. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and proudly served our country in Vietnam. When he returned, he worked as a mechanic for School District U46 before pursuing his dream of being a firefighter. Tom worked for the South Elgin Fire Department from 1975-2000 where he became one of the first paramedics in the area and worked his way up to Assistant Fire Chief. He loved South Elgin and served the town in many roles. He was on the Village Board, the South Elgin Riverfest Planning Committee, the South Elgin Police Pension Board, and assisted in the process of hiring new police officers. Since his passing, so many people that knew Tom have reached out to the family and shared wonderful memories they had of Tom, how much he was liked/respected/a mentor and how much he will be missed. While on the fire department, he also joined the Navy Reserves and completed his 20 years in the service. Even after retirement, Tom just could not sit still. He drove a truck for multiple companies (including Dean's Foods) and helped create and monitor trucking routes for those companies. He had a car hobby...an old police car.

He and Chris were blessed with 45 years of marriage. During that time, they loved to travel. They would take 2 cruises a year and were VIP members with Royal Caribbean. They also found so much joy together attending all their kids' and grandkids' events. It will be very strange not to see "Papa" at Easton's sporting events and other activities as he works his way through school. Tom was so devoted to his family and enjoyed having his children, grandchildren, and extended family around him at all times.

Tom is survived by his wife Chris (Schultz), children Mike Flentge and Amy (Dan) Walden, and grandchildren Eric Walden, Rachael Walden, Lindzie Nork, Easton Flentge, and extended family. Both Mike and Amy greatly appreciate how Tom stepped in at an early age as their stepfather and raised them as if they were his own. As they aged and became parents themselves, they respected Tom even more and became even closer.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, November 14th at 11:00 am at the River Valley Memorial Gardens 14N689 Rt 31 in West Dundee, IL. Friends and Family are invited to pay their respects.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to: South Elgin Fireman's Inc.