Mary Jane Foster

Dr. Mary Jane Foster, born October 2, 1920 in Johnstown, PA., died February 1, 2020 in Hollidaysburg. Daughter of the late James M. Sr. and Mary Jane (Martin) Foster. Also, preceded in death by, brother Frank M. Foster and wife Roberta (Findlay), Barbara (Foster) and husband Maurice Ward, James M. Foster Jr. and wife Patricia (Karcher); sister Georgia Foster who died in infancy. Mary Jane is the last immediate member of the Foster family that ran the Foster Store in Johnstown. Mary Jane was a 1938 graduate of Johnstown Catholic High School. A 1939 graduate of Mercy Hospital School of Nursing. During WWII she served in the US Navy Nurse Corps, stateside, as a commissioned officer from 1943-1947. Following the war, she continued to study Nursing at Catholic University and graduated in 1950. She felt a calling to faith and joined the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana from 1950-1956, leaving as a First Degree novice. She taught for two years at Mercy Hospital in Johnstown. She graduated in 1957 with a Masters in Nursing at University of Pennsylvania. She taught nursing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. from 1957-1964. She also taught at New York University where she received her PHD in Nursing in 1973, before returning to Johnstown. She worked for the Mental Retardation Institute in New York and continued her work being an active member of the Association of Retarded Citizens, as well as, her religious nursing programs. She worked at the Cambria Mental Heath and Retardation Program from 1975-1985. Mary Jane traveled for Nursing conferences to China and Japan. She had a passion for genealogy and compiled an extensive amount of information on her family. She loved to travel and serve others. She was a member of Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, where she served as an extraordinary minister. She is survived by many nieces and nephews. Friends will be received Wednesday from 4-7 pm at John Henderson Company Funeral Home, 215 Central Ave. A funeral Mass will be held Thursday at 10 am at OMOS, Fr. Mark S. Begly. Interment Grandview Cemetery. www.hendersonfuneralhome.com

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