Portrait of Sylvia Foster. IMB Photo
Sylvia Foster, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Ghana, Spain and Germany died March 21, 2026. She was 94.
Sylvia was born Nov. 13, 1931, in Marshall, Oklahoma, to the late Leroy J. Crawford and Beulah L. Crawford. She graduated from Hugo (Oklahoma) High School, received the Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, and attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisiana.
After college, Sylvia worked as a church secretary. In September 1954, she began seminary to earn her master’s in religious education with an emphasis on youth work. While in New Orleans, she worked in a mission Sunday school and in the recreation program at Woman’s Emergency Home. There she met a mission volunteer named James Foster. They were married on Sept. 7, 1955. After seminary, they moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where they worked in the Central Baptist Mission. In 1959, they moved to Loris, South Carolina, where James became pastor at the First Baptist Church. During this time, their interest in mission service grew.
While seeking missionary appointment, Sylvia wrote about her call to missions as a child. “In August 1942, while attending Falls Creek Assembly, I felt God’s call for foreign mission service. I felt then that God would have me serve on a foreign field and I became deeply interested in missions.”
In 1962, the International Mission Board appointed James and Sylvia missionaries to Ghana. They later served in Spain and Germany.
Sylvia was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, James Edward Foster.
She is survived by her children, Carole Jones (Keith) of Blythewood, South Carolina, Stephen Foster (Debbie) of Glenville, North Carolina, and Mark Foster (Cheri) of Blythewood; and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A funeral service was held March 28 at Dunbar Funeral Home in Columbia.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Lottie Moon Offering, IMB, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at Generosity Resource Center – IMB Generosity.
Read an obituary here.