[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   TRIBUTE TO THE LATE JOHN FOSTER, SHERIFF OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS

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                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a 
dedicated public servant, the late John Foster, Sheriff of Johnson 
County, Kansas, who passed away on March 6th after a brief but valiant 
battle with pancreatic cancer.
  John Foster, who died at age 67, began his career in the Johnson 
County Sheriff's Department in 1956, then took the post of assistant 
police chief in Fairway, Kansas, four years later. He became chief of 
police in Lenexa, Kansas, in 1971 and retired briefly twenty years 
later. A year later, in 1992, he returned to the Sheriff's Department 
as undersheriff. He was elected to a four-year term as Sheriff in 2000.
  Doctors diagnosed Sheriff Foster's cancer in January. On February 
21st, two weeks after they told him he might live from two weeks to a 
year, John told county officials that his disease was terminal. 
Undersheriff Frank Denning assumed Foster's duties on an acting basis 
the following week.
  I got to know John Foster well during my twelve years as Johnson 
County District Attorney. John was my friend. He had a wonderful sense 
of humor. He always stayed close to the people he served, and was a 
profile in humane, progressive law enforcement at the local level. He 
mentored scores of younger law enforcement officers during his forty-
six years of public service and leaves his home county, and its 
residents, a much better place as a result of the time he spent serving 
and fostering it.
  Mr. Speaker, John Foster is survived by his wife, Karen Foster, five 
children--Margaret, Diane, Susie, Jan and Todd--and four 
granddaughters. I join with them in mourning this profound loss and 
place into the Record an article from the Kansas City Star that 
memorializes a dedicated and valuable law enforcement and public safety 
official.

             [From the Kansas City (KS) Star, Mar. 7, 2003]

            Johnson County Sheriff Dies of Pancreatic Cancer

                         (By Richard Espinoza)

       Johnson County Sheriff John Foster, who spent almost half a 
     century in law enforcement, died at home early Thursday of 
     pancreatic cancer.
       Doctors diagnosed Foster, 67, in January. On Feb. 21, two 
     weeks after doctors told Foster he might live two weeks to a 
     year, he told county officials that the disease was terminal. 
     Undersheriff Frank Denning assumed Foster's duties the 
     following week.
       Voters elected Foster, a Republican, to a four-year term in 
     2000. Now Johnson County Republicans must nominate a 
     successor and send the person's name to Gov. Kathleen 
     Sebelius, a Democrat.
       He began his career at the Sheriff's Department in 1956, 
     then took the post of assistant police chief in Fairway four 
     years later. He became chief in Lenexa in 1971 and briefly 
     retired in 1991. The following year, he returned to the 
     Sheriff's Department as undersheriff.
       Colleagues said Foster's main goal was keeping fellow law 
     enforcement officers happy and well-trained so they could 
     take good care of their community.
       ``He loved officers,'' Fairway Police Chief Kevin Cavanaugh 
     said. ``He loved what they stood for and what they represent. 
     He did everything in his power to teach people and be an 
     example of how to put their best foot forward in the best 
     possible way.''
       Foster helped the Sheriff's Department win raises to reduce 
     the number of deputies who left for better-paying jobs, 
     switched to better-looking uniforms and constantly trained a 
     new generation of law-enforcement leaders.
       ``He'd accomplished a lot, but I know he wasn't done,'' 
     Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison said.
       In Topeka, the Kansas House approved a resolution Thursday 
     honoring Foster for his nearly 50 years of public service in 
     law enforcement. A copy will be given to his family. It was 
     sponsored by House members from Johnson County.
       Sen. Karin Brownlee, an Olathe Republican, said a similar 
     resolution would be introduced in the Senate next week.
       Johnson County Commission Chairwoman Annabeth Surbaugh 
     issued a statement praising Foster's encouragement and 
     support.
       ``The county has lost a great man,'' Surbaugh wrote, ``a 
     man whose strong and steady step never wavered, a man whose 
     dedication and commitment to this community was unshakable, a 
     man whose wisdom and guidance were a source of inspiration 
     and comfort to so many.''
       Many law officers visited Foster at home during his last 
     days to tell him how he had encouraged them in their careers.
       Lenexa Police Chief Ellen Hanson, whom Foster hired in 
     1975, recalled the way he helped people succeed.
       ``He was a confidence builder, but not falsely,'' Hanson 
     said. ``I think he had a great ability to see people's 
     strengths and build on them.''
       Colleagues remembered his love for teaching, and several 
     said he passed on some piece of wisdom in nearly every 
     conversation.
       ``Every time I spoke to him,'' Cavanaugh said, ``whether it 
     was something to do with law enforcement or on a personal 
     level, I always learned something. It seemed as if he always 
     wanted to teach.''
       Some of it was serious, like the sharp distinction he drew 
     between mistakes of the head--those that are rectified 
     easily--and mistakes of the heart, which show a troubling 
     lack of ethics.
       Other times he couched a lesson in humorous ``Fosterisms,'' 
     like the warning he frequently issued on what he called the 
     ``three Bs of booze, broads and bills.''
       ``The one thing that can cause you trouble if you don't 
     handle them correctly is that,'' Hanson quoted Foster. ``If 
     you handle those things with honesty and integrity, you're 
     not going to have a problem.''
       Foster was a life member of the International Association 
     of Chiefs of Police and the Kansas City Metropolitan Chiefs 
     and Sheriffs Association. He was a member of the Kansas 
     Association of Police Chiefs, the Johnson County Chiefs and 
     Sheriffs Association and the Kansas Sheriffs Association.
       Foster taught as an adjunct instructor at Johnson County 
     Community College, and he was a graduate of the FBI National 
     Academy.
       He lived in Johnson County all his life. He attended 
     Hickory Grove Grade School in Shawnee and Shawnee Mission 
     Rural High School, now Shawnee Mission North. He earned a 
     bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's in 
     administration of justice, both from Wichita State 
     University.
       He was a member and past president of the Lenexa Rotary 
     Club.
       Foster is survived by his wife, Karen M. Foster; five 
     children, Margaret, Diane, Susie, Jan and Todd; and four 
     granddaughters.
       Instead of flowers, Foster's family suggests donations to a 
     scholarship fund for law-enforcement families that they plan 
     to establish soon.
       The family was making funeral plans Thursday.

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