Eileen was born on the 5th January 1922 at 50 Percy Street, Derby to Alick and Winnie.
She was the oldest Sibling to Dennis, Avice, June and John. In 1925 the family moved to Arnold Street Derby. Their home had no bathroom, an outside toilet, no hot water and, 1 cold tap in the kitchen.
Tragedy struck the family in June 1937 when Alick died suddenly leaving Winnie to raise 5 children on her own. John was only 2. Eileen was just 15 and had to run round to her grandma’s and tell them the bad news. Winnie was a tough lady, and they made do the best they could. This is where Eileen got her stiff upper lip and work ethic!
Winnie worked at the Rolls Royce factory to support her young Family and Eileen and Dennis went to work as soon as they able to.
During World War II Eileen worked on damaged Fighter planes, refitting the pop rivets.  She said this was very hard work, and on lots of nights they had to hide in the Air Raid shelter due to German bombers.
After the war Eileen worked as a Florist in Derby, a job that she enjoyed immensely!  She often told stories about the flowers she did for weddings and special events.
Eileen loved to get dressed up to the nines to go dancing and she was introduced to Phil at a dance by his sister. Phil had just returned home after being interned in a Japanese POW camp. It was love at first sight.
Eileen and Phil were married at St Barnabas Church in Derby on the 11th September 1946.
Philip was born the following year, followed by Steven, Nick and Julie.
The family lived in Cumberland Avenue in Derby and they they loved visiting Skegness, Great Yarmouth, Blackpool and travelling around the Countryside
After working hard in England, Phil and Eileen decided to become “10 Pound Poms” and emigrate to Australia by boat.   The family left the UK in September 1960, arriving in Perth 3 weeks later.
It was a long journey but they saw Egypt, Aden and also travelled through the Suez Canal.
Upon arrival in Perth they lived at the Graylands Immigration Housing units for 2 years, with Eileen working in the kitchens until they could save enough money to get on their feet.
The family moved to Valentine Ave in Morley before settling into Demsey St Cloverdale in 1963 and Eileen set about turning the house into a home.
During this time Eileen began to work at Kosteras Florist in Inglewood, which they decided to buy.
Whilst running Kosteras she also worked at the Bus Station Florist with Julie.
She was a very good Florist and made up beautiful flowers for many people in Perth.
 
Even though Eileen and Phil had set up a life in Perth, she missed her Brothers and Sisters so much that she went back for a 6 month visit in 1970. She returned to the UK again with Julie in 1975 for 6 months. She was so close to her siblings and the distance made her very homesick. 
 
After Phil and Eileen retired in 1982 they moved down South to Busselton, a lovely seaside town, where they were just a street away from a big fishing jetty.  By that stage they had grandchildren, so everyone loved to head down to spend a weekend with “Nan and Pop”. The older grandkids, Nikki, Tony and Brendon liked to spend even longer with them and used to stay over during the school holidays.
 
A lot of wonderful times were had sitting around the kitchen table while Eileen cooked up dinner for whoever was visiting.  She loved having the family and grandchildren around her.  She made the world’s best Yorkshire Puddings!  The whole family agrees that they have never tasted any better!
 
In 1989 Husband Phil became unwell with Lung Cancer
He was having treatment in Perth and as Eileen didn’t drive, her children would take it in turns to drive him to Perth for treatment.   His sickness took a terrible toll on her and she was happy that her children give her such a great deal of support.
 
Phil passed away in January 1990. It was a very sad time for the whole family and made Eileen even more homesick and she longed to be with her Brothers and Sisters back in Derby.  She discussed moving back to England with her children, none of them wanted her to leave, trying to convince her to go to England for long holidays instead,  but being a fiercely independent woman she decided to pack up and move and flew back to Derby with a couple of suitcases in April 1990.   Her departure at Perth airport was filled with lots of tears and sadness, but the family all tried to support her move.
 
On her return to Derby she stayed with her brother Dennis for a year before buying a property and she spent lots of her time reconnecting with her family.  Even though she missed her family in Australia, she felt settled again.
Dennis passed away in August 1998, and she missed him greatly.
 
Eileen loved to travel and go dancing any chance she got (she even danced to TV Ads at home!) and she loved watching Strictly Come Dancing.
She got to travel back to her favourite holiday places like Skegness and Blackpool, but she especially loved Benidorm in Spain, and went with friends and Avice or joined a bus tour and made new friends.  She always was a social butterfly.
 
She also headed back to Australia for 3 long visits to spend time with her family. She would split her time over the break and spend lots of quality time with each of the family and the growing number of Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.
 
She loved it when her children and Grandchildren visited her in England. She was able to take them to all of her favourite places in Derby and the surrounding Countryside.
 
Eileen was a very strong lady and lived in her own home until Christmas 2015 when she had a couple of falls and she spent 6 weeks in the aptly named Perth House convalescing before moving to Southover Retirement Home.
She really enjoyed living at Southover, with all the friendly staff and other residents. Even though she had diabetes, she loved her food and her special little “Treaties”.
The activities at the home made her happy, and she told her family she wished she had moved earlier.   As she was quite a social lady having lots of people to talk to and have a cup of tea with made her happy.
She particularly looked forward to her calls from Australia and from Avice.
She wrote amazing letters to all the family, and delighted in hearing about all of them and their new achievements.
 
Kate and I visited her regularly at Southover and she was always so pleased and appreciative to see us. But she did tell us that she missed her family in Australia and she was so sad when Steve passed away.
 
Eileen was very lucky through her life as she had no major illness and her Diabetes was well managed, and she was planning on getting that letter from the Queen when she turned 100.   She always dressed nicely even if just going to the shops or having a Doctor’s visit.  Her stockings always had to match her outfit, Hair must be nicely done and a bit of lipstick.  Very glamourous even to the end.
 
Unfortunately on the 31 July she got an infection in her foot that quickly turned nasty. She was admitted to hospital for a month and then returned home to Southover for them to care for her.
 
The care that she received was exceptional, they read her messages from family and printed out photos for her to see as well as play her favourite songs.
On the night she passed away, Kate and I visited her; Avice, her Children and Nikki got to speak to her and to say they loved her. Even though she was very unwell she smiled hearing each of their voices.
 
Eileen Winifred Foster sadly passed away on 25 September peacefully in her sleep at the fine age of 98!!
 
She will be greatly missed by all her whole family in Australia and England.   And even though we are all grieving in our own private way, and all truly wish to be together, we need to celebrate this remarkable lady, all she achieved and the family she created, so tonight let’s raise a toast
 
To A Celebration of a Life Well Lived  -  Eileen Winifred Foster!!
 
May you Rest In Peace