Berta Foster
Missionary to the Deaf in Africa
Berta Foster
1939-2018
1939 – 2018
Berta Foster went home to be with the Lord on January 27, 2018. We lost a great missionary and mother a few days ago, but we have missed her for a long time. After the 1987 death of her husband, Andrew Foster, Berta has served as the director of Christian Mission for the Deaf, obedient to God’s call to improve the spiritual and formal education of the deaf in Africa. It has been almost nine years since Berta Foster had a massive stroke and subsequently retired as Director of Christian Mission for the Deaf. In her retirement, we have missed her unique passion, labor and love for the deaf, and now in her death, we miss her presence. Burial services will be at 3pm on Thursday, February 1st at Restland Cemetery, 13005 Greenville Ave, Dallas, Texas.
Berta Foster was born on April 30, 1939 in Berlin, Germany to Friedrich and Ilse Zuther. When she was four years old, she became deaf due to measles. Her deafness resulted in a keen interest in deaf education.
In 1960, she met Andrew Foster, the founder of Christian Mission for the Deaf. He was a deaf missionary to the deaf in Africa, and led her to the Lord. Berta and Andrew were married in 1961 and had five children: Andy, John, Faith, Tim and Dan. Through Christian Mission for the Deaf, God used Berta and Andrew’s love for the deaf to open over 30 schools for the deaf in Central and West Africa, educating tens of thousands of deaf men and women, and opening their ears to the Gospel of Salvation that is only available through the Name of Jesus Christ.
Andrew Foster met his untimely demise on December 3, 1987 in a plane crash in Rwanda. Berta continued carrying on the work of Christian Mission for the Deaf until her stroke in 2009. After her stroke, their fourth child, Tim Foster, was appointed to be the director of Christian Mission for the Deaf, and to continue the work of bringing the Gospel to the deaf in Africa.
After several years of deteriorating health, Berta went home to be with her Lord on January 27, 2018. She is survived by one sister (Ilse Zuther), one brother (Fritz Zuther), five children, fourteen grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Her children and grandchildren:
Andy Foster and his 5 children: Audrey, Andy, Jeremiah, Timothy and Benjamin.
John Foster
Faith Haynes and her husband Mark and their 6 children and 1 grandchild: Andrew, Alessandra Trowbourst (and her husband Luke, and their daughter Lila), Amelia, Arianna, Anastassia and Annika.
Tim Foster and his wife Sheryl and their 3 children: Micah, Noelle and Daniel
Dan Foster
Berta’s greatest passion was to live a life of obedience to Jesus Christ, and to call all people everywhere – deaf and hearing – to repent of sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved from the judgment to come. Because of her passion, God used her to nurture and educate so many deaf people in Africa. Our dear sister and mother will be greatly missed by her family, friends and the tens of thousands of deaf Africans whose lives have been touched by her faithful obedience to the Lord’s call.
May we all be inspired by the example of Berta Foster and serve Jesus Christ with faithful obedience until He calls us home.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matt 25:21)
