John H. Foster (September 13, 1957 - December 12, 2025)

John Hilton Foster died peacefully at home on December 12, 2025 after a short but brutal battle with lung cancer.

John was born on September 13, 1957 in Grand Rapids, MI to Hilton and Janeen Foster. In 1975, he graduated from Mount Pleasant High School where he lettered in football, tennis and popularity. He went on to attend Central Michigan University and was an active member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. John liked to say he never let school get in the way of his education! After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in special education in 1980, John taught and coached football for a few years before working as a petroleum landman in Michigan.

In 1983, John visited a friend in Cape Elizabeth, ME. After a few weeks of vacationing, he accepted a job offer from Business Equipment Unlimited (BEU) and made Maine his home. Within a year, he met Karen Demers. The two married in 1987 and had two children. The couple bought a house in Portland where they lived for the past 36 years.

John had a long and successful career in sales and sales management. He stayed at BEU for 13 years and then began working at Nynex in 1996 where he retired in 2022.

In his spare time, John coached youth football and often arrived at practice in his shirt and tie. He enjoyed spending time with friends and family around his backyard pool and traveling to Michigan to enjoy college football games, cherry pies and boat rides. John’s life was full of passion for football, family, friends and work—in that order.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Hilton and Janeen, and sister Lyn.

John is survived by his wife Karen; son Blake and partner Rebecca Merrill of Portland, ME; and daughter Kelsey of Columbus, OH; brothers Kim (Donna) of Stevens Point, WI and Kevin (Karen) of Mount Pleasant, MI; in-laws Paula (David) Jewett of Portland, ME; David (Cathy) Demers of Portland, ME; Lisa Demers of Westbrook, ME; Denise (Dwight) Waterhouse of Raymond, ME; and many nieces and nephews. John is also survived by his chosen family: the Weisenburgers, Roehrichs, Clausses and Hacketts.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the memory of John Foster to the Snell Foundation for the benefit of New England Cancer Specialists. The family would like to thank Dr. Christian Thomas, MD, and his staff; Dr. Mark Wrona, MD, and his staff; Dr. Whitney Beeler, MD and her staff; the nurses and staff of the treatment room at New England Cancer Specialists; the staff of Gibson Family Pavilion at Maine Medical Center; and the staff of Hospice of Southern Maine.

Celebrations of John’s life will be held in Portland on the evening of Saturday, January 31 at Dimillo’s Floating Restaurant and in Mount Pleasant, MI on Sunday, June 14 at The Cabin.