Alberta Carolyn Foster
(1939 – 2025)
Miss A. Carolyn Foster went home to be with her Lord March 11, 2025, at the age of 85. Carolyn was the daughter of the late Albert Leo Foster, Sr. and Mrs. Mary Esther Babb Foster. She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Norma Salter, Joan Slemp and Edith Mowles, and brother, Rev. Justin Foster. She was a graduate of Oscar Smith High School and in 1973 earned her master’s degree in education. Carolyn taught grades 7-12 for the International Pentecostal Holiness Church {IPHC) World Missions Department. She served as a missionary in Hong Kong for 27 years and was a member of IPHC Refresh Community Church in Chesapeake.
Carolyn is survived by many nieces and nephews and friends from around the world.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, March 16, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Graham Funeral Home, 1112 Kempsville Road, Chesapeake. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Monday, March 17, 2025, at 11 a.m. The family invites you to join them following the service at a reception at the funeral home. She will be laid to rest at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, Norfolk at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers please consider donations to the IPHC World Missions at https://give.iphc.org/project/global-outreach-offering
Please visit www.grahamfuneralhome.com to view the service and to leave a condolence.
A Note from World Missions Ministries
On behalf of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church World Missions Ministries (WMM) family, we honor the life and ministry legacy of Carolyn Foster.
Carolyn faithfully served as a missionary for 27 years. She answered the Lord’s call to Hong Kong in 1973, accompanied by Sherrill and Velvalee Orvin and their children. According to Simultaneous Principle, while there, she worked in Wing Kwong College, educating a host of alumni. She departed from Hong Kong in 2000, leaving the church as a national ministry, completely indigenous.
Reverend Eddy Kwok, IPHC Field Superintendent in Hong Kong shared the following tribute honoring Carolyn Foster:
“We are saddened by the news that Ms. Alberta Carolyn Foster passed away, which meant a loss of an inspiring teacher, a devoted missionary and an affectionate sister.
For all of us in Hong Kong, Ms. Foster holds a special place in our hearts. In her mid-thirties, Ms. Foster chose to come to Hong Kong as a missionary-cum-teacher. She had taught in the PHC Wing Kwong College for 27 years since its foundation. Back then in 1973, Ms. Foster just finished her university education in the States and had never been away from her family. Nevertheless, she was so determined to follow God’s call that she set foot on this soil that’s so far away from home.
Loyal to her education ministry, Ms. Foster had trained up so many students, not to say the abundant harvests of the gospel. Ms. Foster held a strong belief that the development of the soul is of utmost importance, as having a developed soul means we have no fear and could enjoy perfect peace. Indeed, many of our pastors and lay leaders of our Church today have once been students of Ms. Foster, Rev. Flora Tsang and Dr. Tang Sui Keung, to name just a few. Surely Ms. Foster had left a legacy of brilliance and will always be remembered with love and gratitude.
Our condolences are with her loved ones. May God comfort her family and guide them through this time of grief.”
The Wing Kwong church will be sending representative Mr. Francis Kwok, the Principal of PHC Wing Kwong College to attend the services to show their honor and respect for Carolyn and the impact her life made in service to the Lord.
The IPHC missionary family shares their deepest condolences to Carolyn’s family in this time of grief. “May the God of all comfort and peace be with you.” (2 Corinthians 1:3)
On behalf of IPHC’s World Missions family,
World Missions Communications Office
