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Thomas N. Foster, 74, of Miami, Arizona, passed away Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at Haven Health Globe. He was born Jan. 18, 1950 in Oceanside, Orange County, California, to Thomas N. Foster Sr. and Ruth May Doty Foster.
He moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University in Tempe in 1971, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Art. He taught in the Prescott school district for a year or so before going to work for Sharlot Hall Museum. He accepted a job to haul mining equipment out of the Harquahala Mine in western Arizona. He also did research for various groups and individuals, which took him all over the world, particularly Great Britain. His love of guns and ammunition resulted in his being an expert in historic armaments. Along the way, he met Karen and Ray Webb, and when they moved to Miami, Arizona, Tom eventually followed them. He helped restore the locking mechanisms for the 1910 Jail in Globe and made a ton of friends along the way. In 2010, he became the first Executive Director for the budding Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum, and poured his heart and soul into its development. He was active in community groups such as the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts, and was appointed by the Arizona Governor to the Arizona, Community Concerts, and Arizona Historical Society (AHS) Governing Board. In 2016, he was presented with the Kip Culver Award by the Chamber of Commerce, and in 2021 the Arizona Historical Society presented him with the very prestigious Al Merito Award. In May 2024, he was presented Citizen of the Month.
Tom is survived by cousins Nancy Winetrout in Maine and Liz Nuskin in Ohio, by his adopted families, the Webbs and the Kesslers, and by many friends here and around the world who were family to him.
A candlelight vigil in his memory will be held on Friday, June 28, at Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum in Miami, beginning at 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
