Cancer claims popular official

Richard N. Foster was a New England rarity — a longtime local politician with no enemies.

Mr. Foster, 64, of 15 Jennings Road, died Tuesday after a bout with cancer. He leaves his wife, Susan W. Foster, and two sons, Michael and Andrew Foster, and their families.

Mr. Foster moved to Westboro in 1971 and spent two decades serving the town in various appointed and elected positions. He achieved some prominence in 1991 when he won a seat on the Board of Selectmen, beating Michael J. McCann by a single vote, 899-898. Mr. Foster hired William F. Galvin, before he was elected Massachusetts Secretary of State, to represent him during a recount.

Mr. Foster will be missed by many friends in town, including many past and present town officials who were counted among his closest friends. Former Selectman Denzil C. Drewry was at his side when he died on Tuesday.

“I am really so thankful that I could be there,” Mr. Drewry said. “He was just a fine gentleman. … Our friendship went way beyond being involved in town. I’m just going to miss him so much.”

Mr. Foster retired as an engineering geologist at the state Office of Environmental Affairs, but continued to work after his retirement in his field. He was a selectman from 1979 to 1985, and from 1991 to 1994. He also served on the town’s Planning Board and Conservation Commission.

Mr. Foster, a professional geologist, was also a baseball and history buff, with a love of all things Red Sox and the Civil War. He could pick up a rock and talk about it in an interesting way, said James A. Willwerth, another longtime friend. Mr. Foster enjoyed his vacations, traveling around the country visiting Major League baseball parks with his family, he said.

Around town, he was thought of as the type of man who could fairly mediate disputes, Mr. Drewry said.

“He had a deep interest in the town, and a deep interest in the people in town, and to make Westboro a better place to live,” Mr. Willwerth said. “He was just a friend to everybody. If you had a problem, you could go to Dick, and he’d help you solve it. He was one of the few who had all friends and no enemies. He was just loved by everybody.”

In 1994 former Police Chief Glenn R. Parker and the town honored Mr. Foster at the local Knights of Columbus hall for his longtime service . That night, he compared the job of selectman to that of a diplomat. He said selectmen have to bring opposing groups together more often, especially when large projects were planned for populated areas.

“Dick just had a nice way about him, he was firm but he knew just what had to be done. Whether it involved the state or private sector, he could work with people in a very positive manner; he had a nice way about himself,” Mr. Drewry said.

Mr. Drewry, Mr. Willwerth, Dexter P. Blois, a former town coordinator, and Richard M. Sundstrom, were among a few of Mr. Foster’s local friends who golfed regularly together. They have a regular Sunday morning tee-time at the town-owned Westboro Country Club, a nine-hole course. Mr. Foster also accompanied his friends on an annual golf trip to either New Hampshire or Cape Cod for the past 17 years.

“It’s not going to be the same without him,” Mr. Drewry said.

Perhaps the most exciting event during his two-decade tenure in local politics was his one-vote election victory in 1991. The town election was held March 4, and the tally on election night had Mr. Foster winning by seven votes over Mr. McCann. A recount was held in the selectmen’s meeting room on March 23. The scene inside Town Hall was described in the Telegram & Gazette as tense, with about 30 people milling about smoking cigarettes and watching neutral counters sift through ballots. Mr. Foster hired Mr. Galvin, a lawyer and former state representative, as his legal representative at the recount. Upon hearing that he won by a single vote, Mr. Foster said, jokingly, “It’s a mandate.”