Aunt Mary Wyant Foster

Mary Edith Wyant Foster was one of my grandmother’s older sisters. She married Roy Foster and lived in Anderson. What I remember most about my mom’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Roy is that they had a swimming pool before anyone else. In fact, they may be responsible for my grandparents decision to install a pool themselves for the benefit of their grandchildren. I remember having a picnic and swim party there with the children of my mom’s cousins.

Mary was born September 1, 1906 in Springfield, Missouri. She died of colon cancer on October 11, 1994. She was living with her son Jerry at 710 Church Street in Anderson at the time.

In the 1930 census, she is reported as living at 1403 Ohio Avenue in Anderson with Roy and newborn Jimmy. She had Jerry a couple of years later. She and her husband are buried at Anderson Memorial Park.

The 1940 census reports:

Roy Foster, age 30, who was a “route man” for a dairy earning $1,700 per year
Mary, age 33
James 10 (Jimmie or Jimmy)
Jerry 8
And Mary Wyant, age 66

That’s right, my mom’s grandmother lived with Uncle Roy and Aunt Mary. How cool.

I always sensed that my grandmother had a warm relationship with her sister Mary. Kind of like you would expect a relationship with an older sister to be.