Muriel Rose Foose
July 19, 2008

Muriel Rose Bates Foose, age 83 of 1509 Wilmar Dr., Quincy, died Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 2:15 a.m. in Good Samaritan Home.

She was born January 2, 1925 in Rushden, Northants, England the daughter of Jim and Ada Rose Fairey Bates. On April 2, 1945, she married William E. Foose in Rushden, England. He survives at home.

Mrs. Foose graduated from Intermediate High School. At the beginning of WW II, she worked in a paper box factory and then worked in an Electronics factory making resistors for radios. She was a volunteer for ambulance duty several evenings a week. She was an active teenager in her church.

She came to the United States in March 1946. A quote from her husband. "My 'Par Excellent' helpmate during my seven years of college and seminary, and even more excellently during my fifty years of ministry." Mrs. Foose helped with Summer Bible Schools in churches where they served. She was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ where she had been president of the Women's Guild. She was a member of the Good Samaritan Auxiliary where she served two terms as president and was active in their various programs. Mrs. Foose served a term as a member of the Good Samaritan Board of Directors, representing the Auxiliary. She was also President of the Gray Ladies at Good Samaritan. Robert O. Becker, a Good Samaritan resident wrote about her " I met her when I came here 20 years ago myself as a volunteer. And for all these years have watched her do all kinds of work...crafts, sewing, decorating, guiding, counseling, cleaning, sewing, (sometimes in very dusty and dirty areas). In all of this, never without a smile on her face. She never shirked responsibility or declined to help someone when she was asked. Muriel has been doing volunteer work at Good Samaritan Home since she attended her first auxiliary meeting in February of 1963. She has always found time to give a helping hand, in addition to being a mother to six growing children, a daughter to an ailing mother, and a loving wife to her husband Bill. For many years Muriel oversaw the work of the Monday Monkees, a Monday activity made up of a group of Auxiliary members. They refer to themselves as Monday Monkees because they have so much fun doing their work. Over the years this craft group has created table favors for holidays, made under pads for the nursing areas, bibs for nursing patients, table prizes for the Annual Card Party, as well as endless sewing repairs to nursing linens, etc. They created interesting scenes for the dining room window and holiday time was always an especially busy time." Her daughter Lorna wrote this after Rev. Foose's 80th birthday party. 'I KNOW YOU! YOU'RE MRS. FOOSE !"

MURIEL THE CHILD Who snuck away from school to ride with her dad on his milk route. Who learned the skill of homemaking and how to make great pie crust from her mother. Who loved and lost her only brother Marshall. MURIEL THE CITIZEN Who loved her birthplace and devoted herself to her country in its times of need. Who sacrificed the comfort of her birthplace to travel to America and devote herself as a citizen of her new homeland. MURIEL THE WIFE Who made a lifetime of commitment to love, honor and obey - and then did. Who paves the way for her husband's successes by carrying the loads she can and encouraging him to do the things that make him feel that all things are possible. Who is loved completely by her husband and draws strength from his confidence in her. Who maintains her beauty by being true to herself in her beliefs and actions. MURIEL THE MOTHER Who loves all her children equally and with great devotion. Who offers every opportunity for us each to learn of our own strengths and how to overcome our weaknesses. Who disciplines with respect and never faults us for our shortcomings. Whose creativity and lust for learning sparks in us the desire to always take chances and to grow from every experience. Who knows when to step back and let us tread on her ground. Who waits for the opportunity to be there when we need her.

Survivors: Her husband; 6 children, Robert Marshall Foose and his wife Gretchen Hudnut, Quincy, Margaret Ann Foose Holtschlag and her husband David, Quincy, Brian Leslie Foose and his wife Sandra Humke, Tempe, AZ, Lorna Elizabeth Rose Foose Dempster, Kansas City, KS, Jill Christina Foose Winkeljohn and her husband Tom, Quincy, and William J. "Billy J." Foose, Jacksonville, IL; 10 grandchildren; Dustin and Jason Foose, Tempe, AZ, James Hudnut Foose and his wife Brooke, Quincy, Meghan Foose, Belleville, IL, Angela Beth Holtschlag, Houston, TX, Mathew David Holtschlag, Anchorage, AK, William Joseph Winkeljohn, Quincy, Brian Charles Winkeljohn, Quincy, Benjamin Logsdon and his wife Gemma, Wales, U.K., and Staff Sgt. Christina Winkeljohn, Kaiser, OR.

She was preceded in death by her brother Marshall who died in 1939, at the age of 18 from Spinal Meningitis.

Services: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 11 a.m. in Trinity United Church of Christ with the Rev. Timothy A. White officiating.

Visitation: Monday, July, 21, 2008 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home.

Memorials: Trinity United Church of Christ or Good Samaritan Home or Jacksonville Developmental Center for Billy Foose.

Burial: Greenmount Cemetery, Quincy, Illinois.

Web-Page: www.hansenspear.com

Hansen-Spear Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

 

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