David W. Foster in 2016 at a celebration of his 50th year teaching at ASU, in the Old Main building. At left is his wife, Virginia.
My dear friend, David William Foster, Regents Professor at Arizona State University, died peacefully last night at age 79. His ASU bio doesn't begin to capture the man in full, but it's worth quoting at length because of the depth and breadth of his accomplishments:
David William Foster is a Regents Professor of Spanish and women and gender studies at Arizona State University. He has written extensively on Argentine narrative and theater, and he has held Fulbright teaching appointments in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. He has also served as an Inter-American Development Bank professor in Chile. Foster has held visiting appointments at Fresno State College, Vanderbilt University, University of California-Los Angeles, University of California-Riverside, and Florida International University. He has conducted six seminars for teachers under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the most recent in Sao Paulo in summer 2013.
In 1989, Foster was named the Graduate College's Outstanding Graduate Mentor, and in 1994 he was named Researcher of the Year by the Alumni Association. He received the 2000 Armando Discepolo Prize for theater scholarship awarded annually by GETEA (Grupo de Estudios de Teatro Argentino y Latinoamericano) of the Universidad de Buenos Aires.In 2010, Foster was honored for his lifetime work on Argentine culture by the Centro de Narratoloia at a program held at the Argentine National Library. He is past president of the Latin American Jewish Studies Association.
We've lost a man of astounding achievements, and this comes atop the crushing loss of historian Jack August in 2017. Arizona, and the world, are less for these passages.
I first met David soon after I returned to Phoenix in 2000 as a columnist for the Arizona Republic. He was teaching a course on the history of Phoenix and asked me to give a lecture, which turned out to be the first of many such invitations.
When he learned that I wrote mystery novels, too, he asked to read one. But he gravely warned me that he made no promises: He would examine them rigorously — and me having talked to one class, one time, gave me no special pass from his scrutiny. Fortunately, I won his approval. He even wrote an academic paper on my books. And I was honored to write the forward to his 2013 book, Glimpses of Phoenix: The Desert Metropolis in Written and Visual Media.
In between, one of the great friendships of my life blossomed. It reached to include my wife Susan, David's wife Virginia Foster, professor emerita at Phoenix College, his son David R. Foster, a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney, and "Young David's" wife Anni, who is general counsel to Gov. Doug Ducey. As I wrote in the acknowledgements of my novel South Phoenix Rules, "Talk about a family with talent."
David William Foster came to Phoenix in 1966, when the old city was very much intact. Unlike the many traducers I faced as a columnist, he understood what we had lost and felt it keenly. He lived in Palmcroft and kept "an urban lab" condo at the Embassy just north of downtown, a place where he could show students the city. Both were lined with custom-made bookshelves to make a bibliophile's mouth water — and he had read every volume.
He was the definition of a Renaissance man, able to talk with keen insight about virtually every subject. Even the most casual conversation with David was stimulating and one came away having learned. And even though he was old school in the best ways, semi-joking that students shouldn't speak in class until they were seniors, he wore this amazing learning lightly. With an easy gap-tooth smile and dapper style, he had a wry, dry wit. Whether the setting was dinner at Durant's or one of the who's who parties at the Foster house or our place in Willo, David was the natural star. We happily orbited around him.
This perch was a long way from his working-class roots in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood (which was not the upscale district of today). His hard work and intellect sent him through the University of Washington, where he earned his degrees. As a newly minted Ph.D. in romance languages and literature, he arrived at ASU only eight years after it became a university. His true north was the humanities. As he was quoted in a 2015 article, “Humanities is all about the description of the human soul and the life that soul lives.”
Interestingly, David was never one of the older professors who feared and criticized President Michael Crow, with the many changes he brought to ASU. Foster had grown up with the university, his international achievements adding to its growing reputation, and he thrived as Crow built his empire. In 2016, David marked 50 years teaching at ASU. I was honored to be among the speakers from several nations who gave speeches lauding him.
At the time, he told me, “After 50 years, I am ready to begin to be a university professor.” Indeed, he kept teaching, writing, and leading trips to Latin America until nearly the last. He never lost his passion, his ever-widening curiosity. At the tribute, I could see a fraction of the generation of students whose lives he had beautifully imprinted forever. As Dan Fogelberg wrote, "His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand."
We had dinner at Durant's last year. As usual, he snarfed up the amuse-bouche plate of vegetables as we savored martinis and talked about everything. As always, his company was joyful. He was a mensch, a gentleman and a scholar.
In the age of grief, in this age of national collapse, the losses are becoming unbearable. But knowing David and carrying all those memories eases the pain. Rest in peace, my friend, until we meet again.
Dr. Melissa Fitch, a Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona, was one of David's Ph.D. students. She wrote a beautiful, moving essay on him here.
Well said!
Posted by: Cal Lash | June 25, 2020 at 03:29 PM
Jon,
Thank you for sharing this thoughtful and wide ranging appreciation of your great friend. Professor David Foster stood out among Arizonans for his intelligence, interests and heart.
Thank you as well for remembering my cousin, historian Jack L. August, jr PhD. Jack, like Dr. Foster, cast a large shadow across the region and our country.
Posted by: mark sanchez | June 25, 2020 at 03:30 PM
I can't believe I'm reading this. I was in ASU last year, invited by David, talking about my literature and about my country. He was an outstanding human being. A super reader, a super intelectual. I can't tell you how much this affects me and literature.
Posted by: Cintia Moscovich | June 25, 2020 at 05:28 PM
I met David at the AP Reading in Spanish Literature and Culture in 2009 or 2010. I sent him my publications and he was happy to serve as my reference. I'm sure that most of the job offers I received in the past decade were, in part, thanks to him. He always had a kind word for me and time to respond to my emails or whatever phone calls we were able to exchange.
David was a true Latin American academician and he will be sorely missed. Qué en paz descanses David.
Posted by: Gerardo T. Cummings Rendón | June 25, 2020 at 06:26 PM
A huge loss for the Humanities!!!!
Mamadou Badiane
Posted by: Mamadou Badiane | June 25, 2020 at 08:37 PM
He sounds like an incredible man, whose passion and purpose in life were one and the same.
Posted by: Kevin in Preskitt | June 25, 2020 at 09:18 PM
Escrevo em português daqui do Brasil para prestar minha homenagem a quem considero um amigo e um brilhante intelectual e pesquisador. Sua colaboração com os trabalhos de pesquisa realizados no Brasil são fundamentais para que continuemos avançando em busca de uma sociedade mais humana e democrática, com vista à construção de uma cidadania plena. Temos muito ainda a aprender com ele disse sua chama continuará ardendo por muito tempo ainda.
[Editor's Note — translation]
I write in Portuguese from here in Brazil to pay my tribute to whom I consider a friend and a brilliant intellectual and researcher.
Your collaboration with the research work carried out in Brazil is essential for us to continue advancing in search of a more humane and democratic society, with a view to building a full citizenship.
We still have a lot to learn from him, and his flame will continue to burn for a long time to come.
Posted by: João Luis Pereira Ourique | June 26, 2020 at 06:26 AM
Lovely. He leaves behind a far-reaching extended family to retell his stories. Thank you for sharing yours with us.
Posted by: Cindy Howell | June 26, 2020 at 08:19 AM
So many words can be said about this marvelous professor, scholar, curious genius, loving husband and father, and dear friend; and still more words would be wanting! As a fledging author, Dr. Foster took me under his wing and gave me courage when I needed it the most. I am grateful for such nurturing for me and so many others! His life has been a light for us all. Rest in peace, Dear Prof until we meet again!
Posted by: Stella Pope Duarte | June 26, 2020 at 10:14 AM
El día del padre te escribí, incluyendo un texto de la Revista Proceso. Tu contestaste que gracias por acordarme de ti: ya estabas internado en el hospital. Luego enviaste otro mensaje : "Abrazos! Y..." Ya no pude hablar contigo, tu teléfono estaba desconectado. Amigo: tu sabiduría e inteligencia eran enormes y así era tu humildad: nunca negaste ayuda a nadie. Descanza en Paz.
[Editor's note translation] On Father's Day I wrote to you, including a text from the magazine Revolución. You answered that thanks for remembering you: you were already hospitalized. Then you sent another message: "Hugs! And ..." I couldn't talk to you anymore, your phone was disconnected. Friend: your wisdom and intelligence were enormous and so was your humility: you never denied help to anyone. Rest in peace.
Posted by: Francisco Manzo-Robledo | June 26, 2020 at 03:52 PM
I never had the privilege of meeting David William Foster in person but in my email correspondence with him (for publications in Chasqui) he treated me like an old friend -- a human warmth coupled perfectly with scholarly meticulousness. Not even the slightest hint of arrogance considering his monumental achievements. No doubt one of the greats of our profession. QEPD.
Posted by: Samuel Manickam | June 28, 2020 at 12:42 PM
Those of us who worked in Hayden Library were very familiar with Dr. Foster. He was always super involved in acquisition matters for the Dept. of Foreign Languages, and would be the first to peruse the LC cataloging records that came in for his area of teaching and research. He also was a huge user of Interlibrary Loan, and I personally typed about a gazillion ILL requests for *Foster, Fac, FL*. He was one of our favorite patrons back in those days, 1970s, 80s. I can’t believe he was only 79 😢. So sorry.
Posted by: Bobbie Gentry | March 02, 2021 at 11:29 AM
In memoriam, David William Foster. Review Essay: The Conversation We Never Had.
file:
/Users/jontalton/Downloads/In_Memorium_David_William_Foster_Review.pdf
https://www.academia.edu/87264210/In_Memorium_David_William_Foster_Review_Essay_The_Conversation_We_Never_Had?email_work_card=title
Posted by: Melissa Fitch, The University of Arizona | January 30, 2023 at 11:46 AM