Eleanor Wright Foster
PHOENIX – December 29, 1926 – March 3, 2022 Eleanor (“Ellie”) Wright Foster, nee Eleanor Lee Wright, passed away peacefully at age 95 on March 3, 2022, at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, surrounded by her loving family. She was a resident of the Phoenix area for nearly 60 years.
Ellie was born in St. Louis, Missouri on December 29, 1926, to Donald and Leona Wright. She had one brother, James (“Jim”), and one sister, Dorothy (“Dot”) Wright Bell. Ellie’s Mother passed away when Ellie was only nine years old, and her Aunt Hatti helped Ellie’s Dad raise the Wright children. Ellie adored her siblings and was close to Jim and Dot throughout their lives (both sadly pre-deceased Ellie some years ago) and Ellie was always close to Dot’s children, her nieces and nephew.
Ellie was very active in high school and college. Besides being a good student, she enjoyed sports, including swimming, and playing field hockey in college. A natural caregiver, she was a volunteer with the U S Army Nursing Cadet Corp in St. Louis. She attended Barnes School of Nursing at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1947.
Ellie subsequently met Frederick Douglas Foster, her future husband, in St. Louis while he was earning his Masters in Hospital Administration at Washington University. After Fred’s graduation, the happy couple moved to Boston, Massachusetts where Fred served as an Assistant Administrator at Massachusetts General Hospital for nearly a decade. They married in 1952, early in Fred’s time at MGH, with Ellie delivering their son Mark in 1953, the same year the couple also adopted three boys (Douglas, David and Richard, Fred’s young sons from his previous marriage) in an amazing act of love and, indeed, courage. Over the next six years, the family grew by three with the births of Barry, Kim and Joy.
The family of nine then moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1962, where Fred served as the Director of the Maricopa County Health Association covering all the hospitals in the county. Fred and Ellie raised their active family in the Phoenix area with much love and attention and remained in the area subsequently. Fred passed away at the age of 63 in 1979 and Ellie worked at St. Luke’s Hospital as a nurse and volunteer for the next 30 years until her retirement.
Ellie met Goldthwaite (“GH”) Dorr III in 1983 and the couple became dear friends and companions over the next 39 happy and fulfilling years. They enjoyed travel (including Europe and New Zealand and visiting family), camping, sports (tennis, skiing and later croquet), Ellie’s artwork, Ellie’s outstanding gourmet cooking, and many social activities. They especially enjoyed each other and their families and family gatherings, with GH’s family of Tom, Stephen, Russell and Anne and their children becoming part of Ellie’s sphere, much to her delight.
Ellie enjoyed a full life of love and companionship. While she thrived in the warmth and affection of her friends, her children and their children, the Dorr and Bell families and many others, she gave much back. She is remembered for her inner strength, courage, peace and kindness. Her calm, nurturing presence made her a foundation of the family. Her examples of doing justice, loving kindness and being humble have been lessons to all her children and those she touched.
Ellie is survived by her children Douglas, David, Richard, Mark, Barry and Joy (her beloved daughter Kim having pre-deceased her), 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, many beloved nieces and a nephew and their children, and by her dear friend GH and his family.
A celebration of Ellie’s well-lived life will be held in the near future, with details to come.