Foster's Funeral Home

Foster's Funeral Home. . , Rufus H. Foster, Sr. 1893-1984 , A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Mr. Foster was born to Williams M. and Phoebe Brown Foster. He was married to the former Henrietta Crystal Littlejohn and to their union, seven children were born. In 1919, Mr. Foster founded Fosters Funeral Home in Gaffney, South Carolina. Mr. Foster was one of the oldest licensed funeral embalmers in South Carolina at the time of his death. He was a member of Bethel Baptist Church. He served as treasurer for fifteen years and a deacon for thirty-five years. Mr. Foster served in World War I and earned the rank of Sergeant., Rufus H. Foster, Jr. 1927-2017 , After graduating from Johnson C. Smith University, Mr. Foster worked at the family business Foster Funeral Home. He was a faithful member of Dunton United Methodist Church. He and his wife the former Mildred Thomas had two children., In 1947, Mr. Foster organized and purchased uniforms for the first two Little League Teams in Gaffney and coached one team. For twenty-five years, he served as a high school referee for footbal and basketball and managed the city's Black baseball team. In 1949, Mr. Foster started the Foster Funeral Home Radio Program that is still on from 8:30-9:30 Sunday mornings, and is the oldest running live program on 1180 WFGN "Your Spiritual Friend.", Mr. Foster was a board member of the Boys' Club, member of the Advisory Board of Nations Bank and chair of the C&S Bank Advisory Board. He joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Johnson C. Smith University in 1944 and was a charter member of the Spartanburg and Gaffney chapters. He was a Life Member of the fraternity for 70 years. Mr. Foster was a Life Member of the NAACP and helped establish "The Voice of the People" organization. A street in the Concord community was named in his honor. He was the first Black Rotarian in the State of South Carolina and served as past president of the Blacksburg Rotary Club. Mr. Foster served as president of the Gaffiney Men's Bowling League. He was a member of the South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governors which serves six counties in the Upstate. Mr. Foster was elected Most Worshipful Grand Master of Prince Hall Masons for the State of South Carolina in 1971, and served in this position for four years. Mr. Foster dedicated 66 years to the Boy Scouts of America and was Scoutmaster of summer camp at Camp Lea for 12 years. Mr. Foster was elected to the Cherokee County Council in 1984 and served until his death and was Vice Chairman for several years.