Obituary of Eric Dennis Forster
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear brother, uncle, and friend, Eric Forster. Eric passed away at the Chartwell Westmount Retirement home on Tuesday, 22nd October at 10:33 ET. He was 83 years of age.
Eric is predeceased by his parents, Alice and Otto Forster, and sister Sharon McLean, all of Calgary. He leaves behind sisters Arlene Burrows of Melbourne, Australia and Gail Burton (Rachel Ballantyne) of Edinburgh, Scotland. Nieces Wendy Rusheleau (Mike) of Markham, Ontario, Sherry Burgess (Rick) of Calgary, Kaylie Burrows (Anthony Bodin) of Melbourne, Australia, and Karen Deane (Darrel) and Kristin Albrecht (Vaclav) of Calgary. Nephews Ken McLean of Blaine, Washington, Dean Burrows (Karen) and Steve Burrows, of Melbourne, Australia and Chad Calverley of Munich, Germany, as well as many great nieces and nephews: Haley Amlin (Nick) and Jared Rusheleau, Katie, Georgia (Caroline) and Molly Burgess, Rhyss and Sheridan Burrows, Spencer and Elliot Bodin, Madison and Emma Calverley, Ellie and Claire Albrecht, and Colin and Elyse Deane.
Born in Calgary, Alberta on March 1st 1941, Eric grew up on a farm outside the city which held some of his fondest memories. The family moved into Calgary in 1947 where Eric lived until his adult years, obtaining a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Calgary. Working in Montreal, QC as well as London, UK, he finally found his home in Kitchener-Waterloo where he lived for over 50 years. Eric worked in the Computer department at University of Waterloo where he helped accomplish many breakthroughs in Mainframe programming. One of his favourite local customs was to visit the St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market every Saturday without fail.
Eric played baseball and golf, followed both sports closely, and was a huge hockey fan. His mathematical mind fit well with remembering sports odds and statistics. An avid card player, the Rusheleau family have dubbed him The Crib Master due to his ability to confound his opponents with his strategies. He was also very musical, excelling in playing both accordion and piano, studying piano with Leonard Leacock in Calgary at a Grade X level. In his spare time, Eric did T’ai Chi and was always happy to share learning about Chinese astrology and numerology. Visits from his T’ai Chi teacher, Victor Constantino, were always a joy.
We will be forever grateful to niece Wendy Rusheleau who, for the past eight years, has masterminded Eric’s ongoing care needs along with her family, Mike, Haley and Jared. Eric spent most of the special family gatherings Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays in Markham since 1988. Special thanks too, to his caregiving team Caitlin, Jill, Toure, Nathan and Sue who enabled an exceptional quality of life.
Cremation has taken place. In memory of Eric, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Waterloo Wellington at www.erbgood.com