Father and his son died within a day of each other
TRIBUTES have been paid to a father and son who tragically passed away within a day of each other.
Arthur Foster, 81, of Haslingden, passed away peacefully from pneumonia in Pendle Community Hospital on April 18, and his family was sadly hit with a second loss when his son Steven, 57, succumbed with coronavirus the following day at Victoria Hospital, Blackpool.
The pair are survived by Arthur’s son David, Steven’s brother, who said they were dedicated in their contributions to Hospital Radio Rossendale at the former Rossendale General Hospital, in both on-air and behind the scenes roles.
David had to make the heartbreaking choice between visiting either his father or his brother in their final days, as hospital precautions surrounding coronavirus meant he would have had to self isolate for 14 days after making a single hospital visit.
David said of his dad: “He was a loving husband to his wife, he was a great dad to me and my brother, and we’ve got lots of happy memories.”
TRIBUTES have been paid to a father and son who tragically passed away within a day of each other.
Arthur Foster, 81, of Haslingden, passed away peacefully from pneumonia in Pendle Community Hospital on April 18, and his family was sadly hit with a second loss when his son Steven, 57, succumbed with coronavirus the following day at Victoria Hospital, Blackpool.
The pair are survived by Arthur’s son David, Steven’s brother, who said they were dedicated in their contributions to Hospital Radio Rossendale at Rossendale General Hospital, in both on-air and behind the scenes roles.
David had to make the heartbreaking choice between visiting either his father or his brother in their final days, as hospital precautions surrounding coronavirus meant he would have had to self isolate for 14 days after making a single hospital visit.
David said of his dad: “He was a loving husband to his wife, he was a great dad to me and my brother, and we’ve got lots of happy memories.
“So even though it’s a sad time, even if we didn’t get a chance to see him before he slipped away, we can look back at the memories and all the photographs and videos he made, particularly of our daughter when she was small.”
David added that Steven had a close relationship with their father, and travelled back to Haslingden to visit him every other weekend until a bad fall saw him move into a Blackpool nursing home.
He said of their relationship: “Growing up, we didn’t always see eye to eye, but we were close, as brothers are.”
The Foster family is planning to organise a joint service to celebrate the lives of both Arthur and Steven as soon as official guidelines on coronavirus allow larger gatherings to be held once again.
A former resident of Highfield Hall Nursing Home, Arthur worked at J&J Mclerie footwear in
Bacup for many years, but after being made redundant, he retrained as a telephonist and worked on the switchboard at Rossendale General Hospital until his retirement in the 1990s.
Visually impaired from a young age, he was an avid radio fan and founder member of Hospital Radio Rossendale, of which he was chairman for many years - David says he was dedicated in his support of the hospital community and its patients all the way until its closure in 2010.
Supporting the station was truly a family affair, with David, Steven and their mother Vera, who passed away in 2013, all playing important roles in the life of the station. Steven served as station manager and also as a presenter of a Saturday night programme, memorable for its ‘Sing Along With Steve’ feature.
David said: “He’d play a classic sing-along type song and actually leave the mic open sometimes and sing with it.
“We didn’t get any complaints, but we might have preferred him not to, put it that way!”
Steven was also a regular churchgoer at Haslingden Methodist Church, where he was active on the church council and in the running of Sunday school. A keen baker, he also provided goods for cake and bake sales to raise money for the church.
He moved to Blackpool in 1997 and worked his way up through a number of hotels to become night shift manager at the luxurious Big Blue Hotel and The Carousel Hotel.
Arthur’s other interests included cricket, often tuning in to local radio to hear matches played by his favourite sides, Haslingden and Lancashire Cricket Clubs, as well as music - he had a large collection of music and comedy records and tapes, with David citing The Carpenters, Hancock’s Half Hour and The Goons as among his favourite listens.
Arthur was also a previous chairman of the Accrington & District Blind Society, which under his watch saw the expansion of its Brand Street premises.
He was instrumental in organising events around the Greater Manchester area for the society as part of the Lancashire Federation of Social Clubs for the Blind as well as annual reunions.