Catherine Foster:
CLASS OF 1962
Olympia High School-W.W. Miller High SchoolClass of 1962
Olympia, WA
Western Washington UniversityClass of 1966
Bellingham, WA
Jefferson Middle SchoolClass of 1959
Olympia, WA
Lincoln Elementary SchoolClass of 1957
Olympia, WA
McDermoth Elementary SchoolClass of 1956
Aberdeen, WA
Catherine's Story
Life
Life bio? The basics:
Attended Western 1962-1966 w/ time out for mono in my junior year, so I didn't finish in June 1966. Was in the honors program, but spent a lot of time at the beach, hiking, out dancing, etc. Later graduated from St. Martin's w/ degree in political science, the department which had the pre-law classes. Had planned to go to law school, but never did, which has worked out fine.
Have two adult sons from 22-year-spanning relationship (17 married) with Stanbery Foster, Jr. (class of '60). Motherhood has been a fantastic adventure, and I wouldn't have wanted to go through this life without it. I respect that it's not for everyone, but I've loved it. No grandchildren yet.
Am now divorced, happily single, with a long-term boyfriend (if that's the right word when our age). We travel together -- the Mexican Riviera, Manhatten, London/western England/Paris, Montreal and Vermont , Wash. DC, San Antonio and the Riverwalk, Denver, multiple times to California, etc. -- challenge each other's brains (he's a professor), and laugh a lot.
I have always been curious, loved to read and learn, and still am. I'm not sure what the next few years will bring, am finally adjusted to being retired, but may have about a third of my life left for new challenges and experiences (my mother lived to just short of 104, her mother lived to 96). I never did go to graduate school, so that may be in my future somewhere. Doing a lot more travel is in the works, including back to England (plus time in Wales and Scotland) summer of 2011, which was wonderful.
College
I went to Western Washington State College (now University) back when Vancouver, B.C. was less than an hour away (no stop at the border, usually), and spent a lot of weekend time in that beautiful city. Still enjoy getting to Vancouver at least once a year.
I majored in anthropology and minored in geology, later changing to political science (pre-law) when I was finishing at St. Martin's.
Some of my most vivid memories of school aren't really of classes: ...Expand for more
the 1962 Columbus Day storm with trees crashing down all around, the first moment when I heard President Kennedy was shot, girls not being allowed to wear pants on campus unless it was a "snow day." (That changed rapidly as the mid-sixties and all its changes hit.)
No sociology class could have taught me as much about cultural differences as all the roommates I had over the four-year span at Western. Observing all the different ways of preparing and storing food, cleaning, organizing, and general living habits was an education in itself.
Retirement
Am retired from the State of Washington, fortunately with "Pers 1 defined benefits." I volunteer edit and write for a website that had over 2.7 million visitors in 2010, blackpast.org. It is basically an online encyclopedia of African American history, with over 16,000 pages of articles, links to other academic and non-academic sites, a special page on Barack Obama, and much more. Our timeline has been published in a separate book, "America I AM Black Facts" (on Amazon.com under Quintard Taylor or the title), and has won awards including from the American Library Association. Have a long-standing interest in jazz and its history and that led into this, along with my background in professional proofreading at the WA State Supreme Court.
In 2008 I was the treasurer for a county-wide political campaign, doing Public Disclosure (PDC) reports for the first time. Have a lot of respect for the work of campaign treasurers now! Am now, in Sept. 2011, treasurer for another campaign. I'm "passionately moderate," as my older son has described my politics.
Love living in Olympia, for its climate -- except for the darkness in Dec.-Jan., when I prefer to head south for some sunshine -- its beauty, and its closeness to Seattle, but with dramatically lower housing costs. Spend about a third of my time in Seattle.
If anyone coming for the 50th reunion of the 1961 class wants to get in touch, I'm in the Olympia phone book!
Update 3/15: now unattached, and happily so.
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