Charles Foster

Charles Wayne Foster was born on July 2, 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina to the late Luvenia Dawkins Foster and Revered Jim Charles Foster, and transitioned on March 31, 2019 at the age of 65. He moved to Gaffney, South Carolina at an early age to live with his loving cousins, the late William Foster and Mary Foster. Charles loved life and lived it to the fullest. He played the piano for his home band, but just enough to keep them on beat. Charles was very competitive. It was there that he started his athletic career, playing football and competing in the 110-meter high hurdles. Charles always gave credit to the late Whitley Smith, his high school coach, for pushing him to realize his full potential. Coach Smith would drive him from state to state to compete because no one in South Carolina could beat him. Charles loved to tell stories about what he wanted to be in the future, and he was always thinking ahead and preparing for the next thing. Charles graduated from Gaffney High School. The late Dr. Leroy Walker, a member of the Track and Field Hall of Fame, recruited him to run track at North Carolina Central University in the fall of 1971. He earned a bachelor of science degree in Recreational Administration in 1975 and took graduate courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Walker—the first Black coach to coach an Olympic Team, the first Black president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and past Chancellor at NCCU—told Charles, “If you follow me, you will go places.” Charles traveled to more than 85 countries and won 26 championships during his athletic career. He leaves to cherish many happy and loving memories his wife of 29 years, Sophronia Qualls, and their daughter, Sydney Qualls Foster, both of Atlanta, GA; two sisters, Minister Esther Foster of Harrison Township, MI; and the late Thomaseian Foster; two brothers, Gerald Foster (Brady) of Harrison Township, MI; Ivan Foster (Stephanie) of Charlotte, N.C.; loving cousins Mary Foster and Brenda Simmons, both of Gaffney, S.C., and Schylver Foster and Glen Foster, both of Spartanburg, S.C.; sisters-in-law Daneal Qualls-Holston (Dr. Kirk Holston) of Carmel, IN, and Forsythia Powell (Frank) of Durham, N.C.; brother-in-law Waldo Qualls of Enfield, N.C.; nieces Kirsten Holston of Carmel, IN, Nicole Ward of Michigan, Aneesah Foster and Tiffany Foster, both of Charlotte, N.C., and Franchesca Powell Gantt of Greensboro, N.C.; nephews Dr. Frederick Powell of Moultrie, GA, L’Thomas Foster of Kannapolis, N.C. and Ivan Foster Jr. of Charlotte, N.C.; godchildren Kendra Mackey Warren of Durham, N.C., Stephen Brown of Mableton, GA, Tisha Waller of Atlanta, GA; and Jaci Field of Raleigh, N.C.; and a host of other relatives and dear friends.