Bob Foster, Long Beach’s late mayor, loved having a good time while he was making the city better during tough times.
So what better way to celebrate his life than to have a party?
That’s what Foster’s family and friends have decided to do at 4 p.m. on Feb. 19 in the Pacific Ballroom at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
“Bob always said that when he left this Earth, he wanted everyone to say goodbye with love, funny stories and great music,” his wife, Nancy, said last week. “So we’re going to have one big party for him, and it’s all open to the public.”
Mayor Bob Foster waves the starting flag for bikers who were given the chance to ride the Grand Prix course Tuesday.
///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: lbr.LBGP-mediaday.0402 – 4/1/14 – BILL ALKOFER, – LONG BEACH REGISTER –
Media day for the Long Beach Grand Prix. Included celebrity drivers and racers. Also featured was opening of the track to public bikers and walkers.
Mayor Bob Foster, right, and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President & CEO Jim Michaelian share a laugh as they kick off the first full day of LBGP track construction in Long Beach, CA on Tuesday, February 11, 2014. Foster and Michaelian pulled up to the event in a 1975 and 2014 Toyota pace cars. The 40th anniversary of the race with take place April 11-13 on the 1.97-mile course.
(Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze)
Bob Foster, shown here at one of his inaugural addresses, could have the new Coucil Chambers named after him, if the City Council votes to do so on Tuesday, April 23. Foster was mayor of Long Beach from 2006 to 2014. (photo courtesy of City of Long Beach)
After the speaker system failed, Former Mayor Bob Foster speaks in front of the Bob Foster Civic Chambers at the grand opening of the new Long Beach Civic Center on Monday, July 29, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster gets ready to test drive an all electric Mercedes Benz car. Press conference and tour of the new Mercedes-Benz facility in Long Beach. The million sq. ft. building is a former Boeing shop along Lakewood Blvd. (June 4, 2014 Photo by Brad Graverson/The Press Telegram)
Bob Foster, former Mayor of Long Beach, speaks at the memorial service for former California Gov. George Deukmejian at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach on Saturday, June 9, 2018. Deukmejian, who served as governor from 1983 to 1991, died May 8 at the age of 89. (Photo by Scott Varley, POOL)
Long Beach mayoral candidate Robert Garcia, center, Garcia’s mother, Gaby Garcia-O’Donnell and Mayor Bob Foster share a laugh after seeing the first results from Tuesday’s election at Garcia’s election party at the Hotel Maya on Tuesday evening. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen)
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Mayor Bob Foster waves the starting flag for bikers who were given the chance to ride the Grand Prix course Tuesday.
///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: lbr.LBGP-mediaday.0402 – 4/1/14 – BILL ALKOFER, – LONG BEACH REGISTER –
Media day for the Long Beach Grand Prix. Included celebrity drivers and racers. Also featured was opening of the track to public bikers and walkers.
Foster died Nov. 30 after accidentally falling out of bed and hitting his head, causing bleeding in his brain. He was 78. Foster had been dealing with a variety of health issues, including chronic myeloid leukemia and back problems. He was using a rotator walker to get along.
But through it all, Foster kept his optimism and sense of humor, to go along with his blunt, no nonsense exterior personality.
Steve Goodling, CEO and president of Visit Long Beach, will be the master of ceremonies for the celebration of Foster’s life.
“Bob was a remarkable leader who did great things for the city,” Goodling said. “He led the city through its worst economic downtown since the Great Depression, and he did it all with a great smile and a great sense of humor.”
Speakers during the upcoming celebration, Goodling said, will include Becki Ames, Foster’s chief of staff when he was mayor; Lorie Ann Farrell, former Long Beach controller, chief financial officer and harbor commissioner: Kenny Foster, the mayor’s son; Bobby Foster, the mayor’s grandson; and Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, who succeeded Foster as president of Southern California Edison.
“There also will be lots of music,” Goodling said. “Bob loved music, especially classic rock. We will have a DJ playing Bob’s favorite music.”
The event will include songs by the Beatles, Goodling said, including “In My Life” and Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy.”
Besides the Beatles, Foster’s favorite songs hailed from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, his wife said, such as Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and Iron Butterfly’s “In-Da-Gadda-Da-Vida,” which is considered an early influence on heavy metal music.
Pizarro, for his part, said in an interview that he was saving his stories about Foster for the party.
“But I will say that we did a lot of work together when I was at Southern California Edison and he was president and my office was next to his,” Pizarro said. “When he left Edison, the decibel level from laughing and joking in his office went way down. He was a wonderful coach and mentor.”
One of Goodling’s favorite stories about Foster happened when the pair went to Washington, D.C., to talk to potential Long Beach convention customers.
“Bob told jokes about his Italian ancestry while promoting Long Beach,” Goodling said. “His self-deprecating humor was great and everyone loved him. That was Bob. Always helping the city as only he could.”
Nancy Foster said her husband’s greatest loves were his family and the citizens of Long Beach.
“He also loved baseball and the San Francisco Giants, traveling, Roman history and his cat, Charlie,” she said. “He loved a challenge and helping people. He was very generous with his time. He ended every phone call with the comment, ‘Do not hesitate to call me if you need any help.’”
When I would talk with Foster, who served as Long Beach’s mayor from 2006 to 2014, about aging, he would always talk about a close friend of his who had died years ago.
His friend’s death, Foster said, made him reassess his life and decide not to run for a third term as mayor.
His advice always was to live life one day at a time. And have a good time doing it — with laughter and music.
So Foster will love what his family and friends are planning for his lelebration of life. Later this month, it’s party time — in honor of a Long Beach giant.