Former city councilman, mayor and county commissioner Larry G. Foster, 78, died Wednesday at Bothwell Regional Health Center. The civic-minded career politician was held in high regard by those who knew him.
According to his obituary, Foster was self-employed for most of his life. He owned and operated four Apco service stations in Pettis County and later founded Sedalia Metal Stripping Inc. with his business partner, Bob McEnerney. Foster later became president and sole owner of the company, which was a premier vendor for one of the world’s largest automobile wheel manufacturers, and he operated the business for 30 years until he retired in 2018.
Foster began his involvement in local politics when he was appointed to the Police Personnel Board. He soon ran for a seat on the Sedalia City Council and was elected twice, from 1978-82. He was then elected as Sedalia’s mayor from 1982-88, followed by a term as Pettis County Presiding Commissioner from 1990-94.
Former Mayor John Kehde was a contemporary of Foster’s and remembered him as one of a kind.
“Larry and I are the same age,” Kehde said. “He ran for a City Council seat, and I did the same and we became involved in city politics, which was back in the early ‘80s. I think he was already on the board in the late ‘70s. He was a mover and a shaker in Sedalia politics.”
Sedalia’s governance was different in those days, Kehde remembered.
“When he and I were on the City Council together, it was pretty much the good-old-boy politics at the time,” Kehde said. “We didn’t have a City Administrator, I don’t know if we had one computer in the building. The accounting methods were very archaic. We transformed that. David Curry was involved in economic development and Larry was very involved in economic development.”
Curry and his wife, Emma Curry, developed close friendships with Larry and his wife, Debbie.
“I will miss Larry for lots of reasons,” David Curry said. “Larry was a dedicated citizen of this community, he served on most of the city boards, all the way from the Police Personnel Board up to and including Mayor. He was very involved in economic development, and he loved Sedalia and Sedalia will miss Larry.”
Foster was also a strong advocate for the Missouri State Fair and he was a member of the Missouri State Fair Commission from 1996-2003 and the Missouri State Fair Foundation from 1998-2012.
In addition, Foster was a member of the Economic Development Sedalia-Pettis County board and received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He also served on the Bothwell Regional Health Center Board of Trustees for several years, starting in 2015, and was eventually elected chairman.
Foster was also active in several civic organizations. His obituary included mentions of the Sedalia Shrine Club, Granite Lodge 272, Scottish Rite of Kansas City, and a lifetime guest member of the American Legion. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church.
Emma Curry remembers Foster as a man in constant motion.
“From the time he was young to even days before he left this earth, he was in motion,” Curry said. “Larry was genuinely interested in Sedalia. If there were a group having coffee and were talking about Sedalia, it was likely that Larry was there listening and joining in. Larry’s community involvement was broadly based from community boards to being mayor of Sedalia. Larry was a well-liked character who took his role seriously and moved Sedalia forward doing so. As the saying goes, ‘there was only one of him.’ His wife, Debbie, says Larry could do anything but open the door of the refrigerator to get something to eat, or to cook something. One thing Larry knew for sure was that he was very lucky to have Debbie for his wife.”
After serving two terms as mayor, Foster became Pettis County Presiding Commissioner and later a mentor to young current Eastern Commissioner Israel Baeza.
“I really got to know him when I came into office as Eastern Commissioner,” Baeza said. “He made sure he would stop by the office and we would visit, especially during my appointment and my run for commissioner he was always close by to offer any advice.”
Baeza was fond of Foster’s style and knew him as an experienced politician willing to explain the ins and outs of Pettis County politics.
“Anyone that knew him knew Larry was a straight-shooter,” Baeza said. “Just the wealth of knowledge and the expertise that he had always was very eye-opening for me. We will miss seeing Larry around and we just want to offer our condolences to his wife, to his children and to his family.”
“He was always involved and did a good job,” Kehde said. “We’ve become close friends as we’ve gotten older. Sad to see him go.”
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 26 at the First United Methodist Church, 916 Thompson Blvd. Arrangements are under the direction of Heckart Funeral Home.
