On Saturday, July 15, energetic and versatile Hiram Foster celebrated his 100th birthday in Union Grove Church, just a few miles down the road from the home of his nephew, fabled Montgomery County Sheriff, Joe Corley and his wife, Judy. As part of the celebration, another Montgomery Countian of high note, Mary McCoy, recently winner of a coveted world Guinness Book of Records as the longest serving female Country DJ, announced Hiram’s ceremony on K-Star Radio to the applause of the approximately 150 guests.
Indeed, a true wonder was the subject of Mary McCoy’s announcement, as Hiram yet mows his own yard and cooks his meals in his home next to one of his four children, Gary Foster, and Gary’s wife, Dee. Not only does Hiram embrace these chores, but until just a year ago, he was doing his own driving.
Hiram is fortunate to have had a wife also of a long life. The former Florine Gideon passed away at age 91. The couple met in the predecessor of the same Union Grove Church which hosted Hiram’s birthday party and were married there. For many years, Hiram worked the roads under yet another Montgomery County legend, T.J. Peel of Montgomery, before he joined Petro Tex Chemical Company in Pasadena.
Besides Gary, who retired at age 56 as a chemical engineer, the couple had three other children. These are Steven, currently President of the Texas Chiropractic College at Pasadena and a sister, Diane Barnes, also a Chiropractor, while another brother, Donald, is an Architect. Between these children, Hiram has nine grandchildren.
Brothers Gary and Steven share a glittering background in music, both in close association with top stars in their field. Steve’s band worked with Mark Chesnutt and Gary’s with the recently deceased country legend, Ray Price. Gary’s band performed on several occasions at Conroe’s Crighton Theatre.
Hiram is used to a large family, as he had nine siblings, all raised in the vicinity of Union Grove Church on a high and beautiful hill. Here the happy family enjoyed family life on the farm under the care of their loving parents, Joe Foster and his wife, Gatsy Simms Foster. One of Hiram’s sisters, Marselle, worked for a time as librarian at the original Sam Houston Elementary School in Conroe.
Interestingly, Joe Foster was the eldest of 15 children all raised in the area of Loma off highway 30 west of Huntsville. The next eldest of these was Joe’s sister, Ethel. Ethel, like her nephew Hiram, also lived a long and productive life, passing away just days short of one hundred and two years of age. One of the sons of she and her husband, John Lee Montgomery of Richards, was J.T. Montgomery, principal of Conroe High School from the mid sixties until 1978.
Wonderful then was the celebration of Hiram Foster’s one hundredth birthday, as multiple generations of friends and relatives enjoyed a marvelous meal and fellowship. Enchanting were the stories of old times and new adventures, as people left the cares of the world to travel to the marvelous setting in the piney woods of Sam Houston National Forest to celebrate a true legend of our time, the grand patriarch, Hiram Foster, and his marvelous family.
