Marlyn Foster

Marlyn Dee Foster was born to Clarence William and Helen Lucille Miller in
Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 11, 1932. She was not only the oldest of two
daughters born to Clarence and Helen but was also the first grandchild born in the Miller
family. As a result of the latter, Marlyn spent many days during her childhood playing
with and chasing behind her paternal aunts and uncles, especially her father’s younger
brother, James (“Jimmy”). She often shared stories about how much Uncle Jimmy
disliked her tagging along, but she didn’t care because, “I had fun.” Some of her fondest
memories of her childhood involved her adventures with Uncle Jimmy, even those that
ended with them “getting into trouble”. Every Saturday, Marlyn also enjoyed going to
matinees at the Brynwood movie theater with her cousins and other young children in
her neighborhood.
In her early years, Marlyn attended Sumner Elementary and Lincoln Junior High
Schools in Minneapolis. After finishing junior high school in 1946, her parents sent her
to California to visit and help care for her maternal aunt, Edna (Clack) Patton, who lived
in Los Angeles. Marlyn remained in Los Angeles. Her parents and sister, Carole,
followed shortly thereafter. She attended John H. Francis Polytechnic High School prior
to its relocation to Sun Valley. While attending Poly High, Marlyn played on the girls’
basketball team and was active in multiple clubs, including the Girls’ Athletic Association
(GAA). This, undoubtedly, influenced her desire to become a Physical Education
teacher as well as her love of competitive sports and basketball. All who knew her
knew she was a die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan and an “official couch coach”. Her
animated responses during games earned her the nickname, “Phyllis Jackson”. Marlyn
met several individuals who became lifelong friends during her years at Poly High, most
notably was Julia “Judy” (McDaniel) Dunlap. Both Marlyn and Judy graduated from
Poly High in Spring 1950. Judy, who often referred to Marlyn as “Prez”, was a mainstay
in her post-high school social group. From attending social events to visiting different
denominations of churches throughout Los Angeles, Prez and Judy were inseparable
up until her passing in 2015.
After graduating from high school, Marlyn enrolled in Los Angeles City College taking
courses in Commercial Art. She briefly worked for Robinsons-May Department Store in
1951, while attending college part-time. When speaking about her time in retail, she
often laughed about how much of her paycheck she spent buying various things for her
sister Carole. “I was always coming home with something for her,” she recalled. Marlyn
left Robinson-May and went on to work for the County of Los Angeles as a Graphic
Artist in 1955. It was while working for “the County” that she met her husband, Robert
Lewis Foster, whom she married on June 8, 1957 and, eventually, settled in the San
Fernando Valley. From their union, Robert (“Bob”) and Marlyn had three children –
Dwayne Terrence, Shaune Tracey, and Kim Leslie.
Marlyn was and remained extremely active in the lives of her children. In the mid-60’s,
Bob and Marlyn took Robert Jr., Dwayne and Shaune on a cross-country road trip.
During this road trip, they visited National Parks and Memorials, such as Yellowstone,
Mt. Rushmore, and the Carlsbad Caverns, an Indian Reservation, and multiple family
members in Minneapolis and Detroit. Robert Jr. affectionately recalled, “Marlyn was our
water tester throughout that trip. We would stop. She would take a sip of water from a
water fountain. If she didn’t like how it tasted, we would leave and find another one.”
As a family, their children also share memories of frequent visits to Disneyland, Knotts
Berry Farm, Sea World, and other California attractions, such as Marineland and Busch
Gardens.
In addition to family outings, Marlyn actively participated in various extracurricular
activities with her children. She could be found crawling around the floor of their home
putting together massive train sets with Dwayne. Shaune, Kim and Marlyn would spend
days putting together large puzzles on the floor in the living room. When Kim began
skating, Marlyn was regularly seen on the floor roller-skating at local skating rinks. She
encouraged and faithfully took Dwayne and Shaune to music lessons when they desired
to learn to play musical instruments. Marlyn even indulged Dwayne and Shaune’s
desire to repaint their bedrooms with such color combinations that would cause most
parents, including Bob, to instantaneously have a meltdown. One of the fondest
memories of her children is when they had family game night. Although she and Bob
had been members of the Lutheran Church, Marlyn became a regular visitor at Brookins
Community AME Church for several years in early-2000, accompanying Kim who was a
member. Marlyn often told family and friends she “really enjoyed her kids,” but her
children and their children were blessed to have enjoyed her more.
In the early-60’s, Marlyn decided to return to school, attending Los Angeles Trade
Technical Community College. While at Trade Tech, she studied Commercial Design,
which enhanced her gifted artistic abilities. This educational endeavor led to Marlyn
earning her Associate’s degree in 1967. Shortly thereafter, she left the County to
become a Graphic Illustrator in the Aerospace industry with Secret Level security
clearance. Her first job in this field was with Sperry-UNIVAC as a Lead Illustrator. She
worked for UNIVAC for twelve years before accepting a position as Senior Technical
Illustrator with Litton Data Command Systems in 1981. Marlyn remained at Litton for
approximately eight years before she was laid off due to the Company’s loss of its
Defense contracts in the Middle East. She went on to work briefly with Rocketdyne
before retiring from the industry in or about 1989.
After retiring as an Illustrator, Marlyn became a part-time merchandiser with Hallmark
and American Greetings to keep busy and, “earn some pocket change”. The flexibility
of her schedule as a merchandiser enabled Marlyn to engage in more leisure activities
she enjoyed. This not only included genealogical research of both Bob’s and her family,
but also playing Bingo at Knights of Columbus and taking brief trips to Laughlin with her
friend and former neighbor, Georgia Childers. She made weekly trips to Los Angeles to
visit and run errands for her mother as well as Aunt Edna and her husband Albert.
Marlyn also frequently drove to the Antelope Valley to visit and provide support to her
daughter, Shaune, and her grandchildren.
Marlyn was an outstanding bowler and was a member of her company’s bowling team
during her years with UNIVAC. She enjoyed playing Bid Whist for hours, especially
when her paternal aunts and cousins came to visit from Minneapolis. One of her
favorite places was Las Vegas. She loved playing “the slots”. Marlyn could go without
sleep when she visited Vegas. Nothing brought her more joy, however, than spending
time socializing and talking on the phone with family and friends. She was
affectionately called “Mama”, “Grandma”, and Grandma Marlyn” by her grand and great
grandkids and “Marly” by many of her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She became best
known as “Sparky” and “Granny” in later years, nicknames given her by Dwayne and
Kim.
On January 5, 2022, Marlyn passed away, unexpectedly, during a visit to Sacramento to
spend time with her grandson, LV and his family. She was preceded in death by both
her parents and her husband of 56 years, Robert. She is survived by her sister, Carole
(Miller) Hernandez; her step-son, Robert Foster, Jr.; her three children, Dwayne Foster,
Shaune (Foster) Brown, and Kim Foster; her twin nieces, Maya and Marcia Hernandez;
her eleven grandchildren, Genesis Foster, Omega Foster, LV Foster, Tashé (Foster)
Saunders, Courtland Foster, Jasmine Foster, Escense Brown, Alyssia Brown, Topez
Brown, Mariah Brown, and Jeremiah Brown; twenty great grandchildren; three great,
great grandchildren; multiple cousins of her husband; and countless cousins, friends,
and “adopted” children, nieces and nephews.