We Will Always Remember You As Being-
B rilliant
Realistic
Optimistic
Trustworthy
Humorus
Efficient
Resourceful
"Brother" was known to everyone as a kind, generous , and loving person. He was a positive thinker and a compassionate individual. We all felt a special glow of love emitting from his infectious laugh. We will miss you very much "brother".
ROSA SHUMATE - BROOKS - L.A. CALIFORNIA
HORACE SHUMATE - GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
I met Mr. Foster many years ago as we were working beneath his neighbor’s house (Miss Hall). Someone had stolen her copper wiring and water pipes. Mr. Foster believed in helping people, which has eternal value. That led to many more meetings, long discussions and debates over the years. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with him. He will be missed.
Alan Ballou
It has been said that wonderful and good people come into our lives and leave impressions on our hearts that last a lifetime to follow and one of those persons was my Uncle Curtis Nathaniel Foster better known as "Brother." Our family will truly miss him. The joy of Brother’s life was talking, debating, laughing, friends and food. He believed in and was a staunch advocate for justice and fairness.
To give you a little glimpse of some of the things he did in his life—He led a protest at North Carolina State College against poor housing conditions for students which got him kicked out of school but things did change for other students. He wrote to Congressmen over the treatment of the Black Soldiers in the military and again things changed. The army became integrated. He worked for a fortunate 500 company and left, returned home to become a gardener, builder and handyman. He invested in stocks and coins which lived off of until they ran out.
Brother believed in researching everything. He had to know more than the salesman or the doctor because he thought that it was not possible for them to know everything because they were dealing with too many people. He did not mind educating them about himself because he wanted the best of the best.---the best cost, the best hammer, the best appliance, the best TV, the best seed, the best medicines, and the best book on a subject. He would write to presidents of companies and corporation, doctors, all over the world to find information. He would get the specification (specs) on all interested items to find out how they worked and how to fix them. He did a lot of analytical work to see if it was cost effective for him to do a project or let an expert do it. He did not believe in short cuts, measurements had to be accurate and precise or you had to tear it apart an begin again. He was a master negotiator. The list price was never the real price for any big ticketed item. Pay cash to negotiate was his motto.
As far a doctors were concerned, he knew all about every aspect of every disease that affected him and he knewall the specs of every drug he had to take. He researched and went to the best hospitals for treatments—Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Boston Medical Center in Mass and the Jewish Hospital in Denver, Colorado. He researched doctors specialties. He sent for research from the New England Journal of Medicine, Journals from England, France, Russia, South America. He looked for doctors who had done research on his particular condition.
Brother liked French, Italian, and especially German foods like Pumpernickel and Italian Rye breads and many dishes that I forgot. He could speak some of the dialect and language of most countries around the world. He was particular fond of Norway and Sweden and wanted to return there one day.
Curtis believed that you must know your history. He knew a lot about African History- the empires, wars, king and queens, regional products and much more. He was always dismayed that African Americans did not know much about our history including his own family. Nightly he listened to BBC and west coast Jazz. He found the conversation stimulating and uplifting but was disappointed that he only had one or two people to share it with. There were very few subjects that he could not talk intelligently about. He loved books and his house is filled with books on every subject. In his late 80’s he frequently asked family members, "Did you read this book or that article"? Frequently, our responses would be enlighten us, and he would be delighted to do so.
He love to discuss politics and current issues. He had strong opinions about most things. He believed that there is always a reason for everything-a good reason and a real reason. We should look for the real reasons he often said.
He did not care too much for soul music and gospel music but he loved Jazz and some classical music. He enjoyed the big bands, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jerry Mulligan, Stan Getz and many others which I can’t recall. He loved playing bid whist, spades, solving crossword puzzles and telling a good joke. He wrote the proposal and was a founder of the Avant Guard, a men's club to educate the community of economic and entrepreneur opportunities.
Brother was truly his Brother’s keeper for he always answered when someone called. He was there to advised them, write letters for them, screw in a light bulb, fix a faucet or a toilet, plant a garden or just have a conversation. He called all females "young lady" no matter how young or old they were.
I can only say that my uncle was a unique, outstanding and phenomenon man. We will miss his conversations, information, stories and laughter. We prayed that he would get better but God knew best. We knew that he was suffering and in pain. We knew that he did not want tubes in him and not to be able to talk. To us, he is gone too soon but he left us many, many precious memories that we will always cherish and be our guide. We love you Brother. Good bye and see You much, much Later!
