Foss
Our dear Dad, Lloyd Robert "Bob" Foss passed away peacefully Saturday, July 7, at his home in Kent.
He was born in Montesano, Washington, on June 29, 1929, the son of Lloyd A. Foss and Elizabeth Gleeson Foss. A graduate of the class of '47 of Montesano High School, he was a proud member of the Bulldog football team. He continued his education and upheld a long family tradition by attending Western Washington State College in Bellingham. From 1952 to 1954 he served his country during the Korean Conflict as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Japan.
He married Joycelyn Cecelia Schumacher on August 20, 1955, at St. John's Catholic Church in Montesano. Their wedding reception was the first one to be held in the new church hall and was attended by more than 200 guests. The newlyweds moved to Forks where Bob worked for Sackett Brothers Logging Company and their eldest daughter, Joyce, was born. After a brief return to Montesano and the birth of second daughter, Catherine, and son Robert, the family moved to Kent in 1962.
Bob was a well-respected team member of the Instrumentation Division of the Boeing Engineering Test Lab until his retirement in 1991. He worked on the MX Missile, the Jet Foil, and a number of those black-box projects Boeing people never talk about. He took great pride in testing the technical parts and materials on behalf of those who would use them to explore space. He always felt he served his country by doing his best work. One of his proudest moments was being part of the team that tested the Lunar Rover. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, the family was on a camping trip and Dad looked to the sky and said, "You might want to remember this day." It's one of many we will never forget.
Dad loved to hunt and provide for the family table, especially with his long-time friends from the Corral Gang, who he hunted with for more than fifty years. He was never more at home than when he was in the woods. He loved to fish, too, and his stories of the ones that got away will never be forgotten. We are pretty sure he was the only fisherman at Seiku who tossed a copy of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine into his duffle bag to read by the campfire. As family friends Howard and Bev Carter often said, "Nobody loves to fish more than Bob."
His love of resources and nature was reflected in his dedication to working the ranch his grandparents Daniel and Johanna Gleeson homesteaded more than 100 years ago on the West Fork of the Satsop River. Now the fifth generation will carry on his legacy of history, family heritage and a profound love of the land. We romise, Dad, to always to keep the tractor in good running order and to "keep things on an even keel."
Lloyd Robert Foss is survived by his wife of 52 years, Joycelyn, of Kent; daughters Joyce McCombs of Delta Junction, Alaska, and Catherine Foss of Lake Stevens, Washington, and son Robert J. Foss of Los Angeles; son-in-law Steve McCombs and grandson David Robert McCombs of Delta Junction, and his beloved sister Elizabeth Perry of the Satsop Valley.
A funeral mass was held July 12 at St. John's Catholic Church in Montesano, followed by burial in the family plot at the Satsop cemetery.
Funeral arrangements were made courtesy of Whiteside Family Mortuaries.
To honor his love of local history, the family suggests that donations be made in Bob's name in support of the Chehalis Valley Historical Museum, 703 Pioneer Avenue West, Montesano, WA 98563.
