Emily Elizabeth Foster

Emily Elizabeth Foster (November 23, 1945 – September 9, 2023) was born in Tempe, Arizona, to her late parents Richard A. and Evelyn (Unger) Foster. After growing up in rural Vienna, Ohio, she attended Ohio State University where she earned a master’s degree in English. OSU and its environs became an integral part of her personal and professional life. There she met well-known Philosophy professor Lee Brown and they shared an adventurous life together until his death in 2014. Emily was the beating heart of the neighborhood where she lived in the same house near the university for 50 years, even writing the book on the history of the community: The Ohio State University District: A Neighborhood History. She applied her impeccable research and writing skills to author two additional books on Ohio history: American Grit: A Woman’s Letters from the Ohio Frontier and The Ohio Frontier: An Anthology of Early Writings. She was elegant and earthy, stubborn and generous and, above all, fearless. She was as comfortable with a wine glass as a chainsaw. Emily was both worldly and down-to-earth, equally at ease with her neighbors in the Hocking Hills and the internationally famous. She was fascinated by people who were curious and passionate about learning, rather than the merely famous. She notably commented upon meeting celebrities like Mick Jagger or Jimmy Buffett, “I found them shallow” or “Not my music, but people seemed to think he is talented.” Emily loved the outdoors: visiting her primitive cabin in the Hocking Hills, and hiking around the world. She was especially proud of her extensive treks through the Pyrenees and the Himalayas. Evan Brown, her beloved stepson, recalls her as “a great nurturer” of all living things, most especially found cats and dogs, many of which she offered forever homes in her house over the years. She would even carefully transport errant ants inside her home back outside unharmed. Emily and Lee’s home was filled with parties and music, with Emily playing both flute and piano. She loved to laugh and came from a long line of jokesters, saying, “Everyone has lapses of taste, but better to laugh too often than too little.” After working as a grant writer and freelancer, she joined Columbus Monthly as a staff writer in 1985 and became a senior editor a few years later. She covered such diverse topics as homes and civic issues, as well as writing personal essays and illuminating profiles. She became editor of Cincinnati Magazine (a sister publication at the time of Columbus Monthly) in the late 1990s. Following a brief return stint at Columbus Monthly, she joined Steiner-Lesic Communications in 2000 as vice president and then moved to Ohio State as Associate Vice President, Communications, retiring in 2008. In addition to her parents, Emily was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Brown. She is survived by brothers Richard (Linda) Foster Jr. and Robert (Melissa) Foster, stepsister Jane (Chris) Walker and stepson Evan Brown, as well as nephews and nieces Gabriel Foster, Nicholas Foster, Henry Foster, Charles Foster, Margaret (Foster) Payne and Christine Foster. A celebration of Emily’s life will be held Nov. 12 at Indianola Presbyterian Church, 1970 Waldeck Ave. in Columbus. Music will begin at 2 pm Eastern Standard Time, program at 2:30 and reception at 3:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Cat Welfare Association of Columbus. For those unable to gather in person, a livestream will be accessible via Indianola Presbyterian Church’s links: YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@indianolapres/streams and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/indianolapres Celebration of Life for Emily Foster Indianola Presbyterian Church Sunday November 12, 2023, 2:00pm Parking: Attendees may park on four sites adjacent to Indianola Presbyterian Church. The Church can be entered from the sidewalk on Waldeck Ave (no stairs) or the main entrance on the south green (with stairs). Indianola Presbyterian Church 1970 Waldeck Ave Parking lot https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pw4N9zsZUPQdn7vq6 Alpha Gamma Rho 1979 Iuka Ave Entrance to parking from Woodruff Ave and Iuka Ave Alpha Gamma Rho https://maps.app.goo.gl/D5Dq9D8PsxD85HMr9 Summit Methodist Church 82 East 16th Ave Entrance to parking from Iuka Ave and East 16th Ave Summit on 16th United Methodist Church https://maps.app.goo.gl/eX9v77nzM9o5KkkW6 Graham Elementary and Middle School 140 East 16th Ave Graham Elementary and Middle School https://maps.app.goo.gl/38zNeuJEsC7xiah86 For a Google Map of the parking options click here or copy and paste this link https://maps.app.goo.gl/FXf75Wkt7TWEjMm3A

Emily Elizabeth Foster

November 23, 1945 - September 9, 2023