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"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" Psalm 116:15
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" Matthew 5:4
"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory" Psalm 73:24
Keith Dwain Foster was born March 28th, 1949 in Falfa, Colorado (just outside Durango) and was raised in Southern California and Oregon. In an effort to equip himself for the ministry, he attended Biola University and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.
He met Faye Jean Turner on a Sunday morning in a church located in Portland, Oregon and began a friendship that over time, blossomed into love. After dating for 5 weeks, they got engaged and then married four months later on April 4th, 1970. On September 27th, 1971 they welcomed first daughter, Lori Diane. And just two years and three months later, completed their family with daughter Kristi Lynn, who arrived December 28th, 1973.
Keith was a baritone soloist who took his music beyond the stage of entertainment, into the area of ministering to the hearts of the people to whom he sang. He had a spiritual sensitivity, which enabled him to interpret the message behind the music. He traveled throughout the United States and Canada in churches, schools, conference centers and concert auditoriums.
Prior to entering into full-time ministry as an itinerant evangelist, Keith was a businessman for several years and served as Corporate President and CEO over a number of companies. He served in the pastorate as a Minister of Worship, College Pastor, Pastor of Adult Ministries and an Executive Pastor and since 1985 has been in a full time concert and conference ministry. Since his ordination in 1983, he has been associated with several organizations including Multnomah Bible College and Seminary, Friends of Israel, Prison Fellowship, Biola University and several conference centers around the country.
In 2003, as his kidneys began to fail due to complications from diabetes, he found himself in need of a transplant. After testing several family matches, his wife, who was a breast cancer survivor, ended up being the best match for the transplant. September 17th, 2003 Faye gave, literally, a part of herself to sustain the life of her mate. Post surgery, the kidney did well and his health improved. One of the downsides of a transplant is that the immune suppression medications he had to take, opened him up to many other life threatening diseases. He battled through the Noro Virus, ITP disease and CMV disease. With the CMV disease, his blood platelette count became so low, he was considered to be a bleeder risk many times over several months. Once his count was raised high enough to attempt surgery, doctors removed not only one spleen... but TWO! He always was an over achiever.
Aside from his health problems, he also survived many car crashes and incidents with wildlife over his many thousands of miles traveled during his years of ministry. There was the moose vs. the Caravan, the flight over the cliff that landed him in a tree 5 feet off the ground, the head on collision when teens came around a corner too fast in southern Oregon and those are just a few that stand out. Still, the Lord had work for him to do.
In September, 2007 Faye quit her job to be able to travel with him full time and help with driving. He had been having difficulty with stamina since that last accident in Southern Oregon. Yet, the Lord provided for their needs and gave them clear direction that he was supposed to stay on the road in ministry.
On Saturday, April 26th, Keith headed out on a 10-day ministry tour down through California. He was adamant that he was taking this trip by himself. To prove that he could still travel by himself and meet the needs of his family. On Sunday, April 27th, around 7am, he reportedly lost control of his vehicle in the Sacramento area, and swerved off the highway and down a dirt embankment. The first person on the scene was an off-duty fire fighter. By the time the paramedics arrived, he was unconscious and despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced deceased at the scene by 7:25am.
He never made it to the church, but that morning, he was ushered into Heaven. Keith's life ended with dignity, and doing what he loved: driving and serving the Lord in song. He especially loved going to the remote locations to minister to the pastors and congregations that didn't get special music ministries like his. He never went with pretense. All he asked was that a church take a "love offering" and allow him to sell tapes or CD's which was his only income to provide for his "hungry foster children" as he liked to say in concerts. No matter how big or small the congregation, the Lord always provided the needs for his family.
Keith delighted in his own children, Lori and Kristi and was able to see them grow into beautiful, successful young women who love the Lord with all their hearts. He was also able to receive into his life with joy, a son-in-law (whom he always referred to as "our son") Robert Byland in February 2006. He was present on March 8th, 2007 as his first grandchild, Haley Renae Byland entered the world. She brought so much joy to "Ba-pa" and he spoke of her in recent concerts.
His ministry will be greatly missed among the churches that he visited, and he will be remembered as a "larger than life" man of God. He was always quick with a story or a joke. He loved to encourage fellow believers to live the abundant life that the Lord promises to us. Singing for him, was just about synonymous with breathing (or eating crab legs, oh how he loved seafood!) Ultimately, it was his goal that people did not see him singing, but that through his singing, they would see the Savior. He longed for each person to have a personal, abundant relationship with Jesus Christ.
He was preceded in death by his father, Dale D. Foster and mother, Bernice M. (Diller) Foster. He is survived by his wife Faye J. (Turner) Foster of Gladstone, OR. Daughter Lori D. (Foster) Byland, son-in-law Robert A. Byland, Jr. and grandchild Haley R. Byland of Hillsboro, OR and daughter Kristi L. Foster of Vancouver, WA. His sister Carrol L. Jensen of Phoenix, AZ. Brothers Marvin L. Foster of Detroit, MI, Dennis C. Foster and D. Brent Foster both of Woodburn, OR.
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