Recent Obituaries

Foster Paul Stockwell passed away peacefully on October 12, 2023 at St. Anne Hospital in Burien, Washington, following a short illness. He was born on February 17, 1929, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to the Reverend Francis Olin and Esther Beck Stockwell, both Methodist missionaries. Foster grew up in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. After moving to Chicago, Foster married Rhoda Kutner and they had one son, Norman. Foster and Rhoda later lived in San Francisco and Seattle.

Foster worked as a newspaper editor at the Berrien County Record in Buchanan, Michigan, from 1960 to 1961 and later as an editor for the World Book Encyclopedia in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, he worked as an editor at Foreign Languages Press in Beijing, China, and subsequently as a consultant for Chinese publishers and authors. In his retirement, Foster authored a half dozen books on topics including religions in China, information storage and retrieval, and the history of American communes, as well as a study of Western exploration of China, a handbook for genealogical research, and a look at the misinterpretation and misuse of the Bible. His books can still be purchased through many online retailers.

Foster was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Margaret (who died during childhood in West China), and his wife Rhoda, who died in Des Moines, Washington in 2008. He is survived by his son Norman, daughter-in-law Melanie Herzog, and his only granddaughter, Marian Herzog. A memorial will be held on November 8, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at the Des Moines United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Foster's name to The Progressive magazine (P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53703).