William Frederick Foster
William Frederick Foster, December 12, 1941 – January 1, 2025. God, in his almighty wisdom, called William (Bill) Frederick Foster, to his heavenly home on January 1, 2025. Husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away quietly after a long-fought battle with cancer at the age of 83. His wife Joan, sons James and Philip and their children were at his side throughout his final days.
Bill was born on December 12, 1941, in Lansing, Michigan, the son of Earl L. and Elizabeth C. (Kloepfer) Foster. He attended Bretton Woods, a Delta Township grade school, C.W. Otto Middle School, J.W. Sexton High School and Lansing Community College.
Bill was a part-time mechanic at Stevens Garage in Delta Mills in his early years and in 1965 started working for REO Motor Car Company. After 10 years of working there, the then, Diamond Reo Truck bankrupted. By the fall of 1975, together with a group of ex-Reo personnel, Bill started to build trucks as a subsidiary of Form Rite in Charlotte, Michigan. A little over a year later, Bill, together with three (3) others, approached a group of Charlotte businessmen to back a small business loan to build Spartan Motors’ first plant building in Charlotte, Michigan. Bill would continue to build Spartan Motors through years of hard work, passion for the industry and perseverance serving as Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors for over 30 years.
Bill married Joan Westmoreland on June 17, 1967, at Emanual First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansing, MI. Together they had two sons while living in Delta Township where Bill served on the Delta Township Fire Department. He held many ranks up to and including Assistant Chief before retiring from active fire service after 27 years. In 1982, the family moved to Grand Ledge, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
Bill was passionate about firetrucks, fire safety vehicles and training firefighters and mechanics within the fire industry. However, he was also passionate about his family and his personal relationships with everyone he met. He loved spending time with his family and friends at their cottage in Sault Ste. Marie, watching iron ore freighters. He loved traveling and would always find a fantastic place to get wonderful food from coast to coast. If he knew you were going on a trip, he might even suggest a restaurant to visit while you were gone and tell you exactly how to get there.
He was also passionate about sharing his knowledge with anyone interested in the fire industry. Even after 60 years, until he would be hospitalized for a blood clot in the fall of 2023, he could be found driving a fire truck chassis to a fire show, sitting on the bumper telling stories while greeting his friends and customers while updating them on the newest Spartan Motors products.
Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan, their two sons James (Tammy) and Philip (Deborah), grandchildren Brooke (Rory), Joshua, Benjamin (fiancée Grace), Rebecca, Peter, Christopher, and Lynn, and great-granddaughter, Adelaide.
Christian funeral were held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at Emanuel First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Interment will be in Delta Center Cemetery. His family received friends at the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel from 2:00-4:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m., Monday, January 6, 2025, and also at the church 1-hour prior to the funeral service on Tuesday. Memorial contributions may be made to Emanuel First Ev. Lutheran Church Restoration Fund.