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Joanne Carter-Foster
June 2, 1934-September 24, 2022
Carter-Foster obit pic

Joanne Carter-Foster passed away on September 24, 2022 in Manteca, California. She was born on June 2, 1934 in Stockton, California. 

   Joanne was preceded in death by her first husband, James “Allen” Carter, Sr., who passed away in 2000; and by her second husband, Morton Andrew Foster, who passed away in 2010. Joanne & Allen were blessed with three children: Janice (Richard) Zacharias of Manteca, CA, Shirley (Tad) Halladay of Kanarraville, Utah, and James (Desiree) Allen Carter, Jr. of Manteca, CA. She is also survived by her step children Kathy (Doug) Harvey, Janet Thomas, and Andrew Foster.  Joanne leaves behind 14 grandchildren whom she treasured: Amber, Keith, April, Misty, Jessica, Tony, Eric, Nikki, Laura, Nathan, Karen, Wesley, Aaron and Hillary; and she was blessed with 51 great-grandchildren. She also loved her second set of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and prided herself on reaching out to each one on their birthday. She is survived by her sisters Dianne (Gavin) Williams and Dauna Newman.  Independent and impetuous, Joanne considered herself a bit of a tomboy. She loved to tell people about tarantulas she brought home and let crawl up her arm, much to her mother’s horror. When she was 19, after dating Allen for about a week, they eloped to Carson City.  She spent the next 12 years juggling the care of three children with attending college, teaching grammar school, and getting her degree from Stanislaus State. Due to a teacher shortage, she taught for 6 years on an ‘emergency credential’ at Lindbergh School before officially graduating. Joanne was one of the first teachers at Shasta Elementary School when it opened in 1966, and finished her career there after teaching 1000-plus 4th graders over the course of 35 years.

Joanne was feisty and tenacious, and discovered a love of genealogy after joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She would load her kids into the car and drive all over central California, tromping around graveyards and talking to aunts, uncles, and cousins about family - nothing was more important to her than family and church. She served for many years as a Sunday School teacher, and attended both 4H Camp and church girl’s camp as an adult volunteer.

   A voracious reader, Joanne took her children to the library every week of the summer. Her home was filled with well-read books, magazines, and newspapers - and then she would talk about what she had read. She loved to camp, and would take the kids up to Pinecrest or Silver Lake every summer by herself, as Allen had to either care for the cows or the almond trees on their small ranch.

    Joanne was a caregiver, beginning as a newlywed with her elderly in-laws, then for her children and students, and for Allen and Mort in their later years. She believed in serving others, and was a faithful SHARP and SAFE volunteer for years, working with local police and fire departments. No one ever heard her swear, and she was noted for sticking up for people - her children never heard her gossip. She was a kind and gentle person - but it didn’t pay to get in her way when she was determined. Though she will be missed, she is undoubtedly having joyous reunions, and will continue to find ways to serve.

   P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Home is honored to serve the Carter/Foster Family. A viewing will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 6060 Northland Road, with the funeral service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at East Union Cemetery, 1035 N. Union Road, Manteca. An online guestbook is available at www.plfryandson.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.


Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Friday, October 7, 2022