Kevin's beautiful sister Lisa passed away on Monday April 25, 2016. She had been battling brain cancer for four years. She amazed us all with her positive attitude through her trials. Her faith only grew stronger through her challenges. She has left such a Christlike example for the rest of us to follow.
She was born on September 24, 1981 to Ken and Susan Foster. My husband Kevin was happy to have a little sister to love and take care of.
I love this picture of the two of them. It shows the loving bond between brother and sister. One of my favorite stories I have heard about the two of them is when Kevin cut Lisa's hair. Their Mom was gone and he cut her hair and didn't know what to do with the evidence. They took the hair and shoved it under the fridge. When the vent turned on it blew red hair all over the kitchen!
The Foster Family was happy to have Heather join the family on May 24, 1985.
Lisa started dance at the age of three. She looked adorable in her little tutu and tap shoes. This is one of my favorite pictures of her when she was little. She found her favorite kind of dance to be clogging and she competed and performed her whole life.
I had to include this picture of them tubing at the cabin. Lisa always had her hair in braids. She even learned to braid her own hair when she was five years old.
Lisa having fun with her youngest brother Spencer. She was like a second Mom to him.
Lisa was a cheerleader at Skyline High School. It was one of her many talents. She even got to cheer with her cousins Jared and Loren Reid. She also attended a cheer camp with her sister Heather.
Kev told me that this was one of the pictures that Lisa sent him on his mission. It was taken around her Senior year in high school.
Kevin and Lisa became closer the older they got. They enjoyed talking with each other and hanging out with friends. They were enjoying eclairs at Kevin's homecoming in July of 2000.
The first time that I met Lisa was up at Rick's College. She and Kevin were both up there during the 2000-2001 year. It was fun getting to know Lisa when I was dating Kevin. I remember him talking to other people and saying, "Do you know my sister Lisa? She's the cute little redhead!"
Kevin and Lisa were both over at my apartment a lot over the next few months. They were our adopted roommates. We had a lot of fun dressing up and being silly together.
Lisa was on the Folk Dance team at school. Kevin and I went to watch her perform at Extravadance. She performed with her cute cousin Cambria. Lisa was a talented dancer. She had such stage presence and impressed everyone with her beautiful smile!
Kev invited me up to the Foster family cabin that Winter. It was the Grant family snowmobiling party. I enjoyed meeting a lot of Kev's relatives. We went up to Smith and Morehouse to do some snowmobiling together.
Kevin and I were married on May 18, 2001. It was a beautiful day! I was happy to be sealed to Kevin and officially be part of the Foster family.
Lisa was one of my bridesmaids. We had a lot of fun hanging out and taking pictures all day. I was excited that she was my sister-in-law now.
The summer of 2001 Kev worked at Alpine Power Sports. We were able to take the boats and waverunners out when they weren't being used. We took Lisa to Deer Creek with us to have fun. I was impressed with her water skiing skills.
Lisa came down from college for Thanksgiving day that year. We had fun celebrating together at Grandpa and Grandma Grants house. We took a picture with all the Grant cousins that were there that day.
The next summer Mckenna was born. Lisa was excited to be an Aunt! She flew home from Chicago for a few days and met Mckenna on the 4th of July.
We went up to the cabin for the weekend. We took a picture of all of us before the rodeo. The rodeo is one of our favorite Foster traditions that started with Grandpa and Grandma Foster.
In the Fall we spent some time as a family at the cabin. Kevin and I decided to carve our names on one of the Aspen trees. Lisa took a bunch of pictures for us. She thought it would be funny to jump in for a picture too since it did say Kevin and Lisa.
Lisa was married to Cody Calderwood on April 25, 2003. It was a beautiful spring day. Lisa looked so beautiful in her wedding dress and was just beaming all day. We were excited to have Cody in the family. They met in Chicago the summer before. We were impressed with how well he treated Lisa from the start.
We went up to Reid Ranch for the Grant family reunion in July of 2003. The Foster family was starting to grow. It was fun having Cody and Lisa to hang out with.
We also went off-roading with some of the cousins. Cody had brought his shotgun and .22's and we went up to the top of the mountain to shoot.
Lisa and Cody came home from Maryland for Christmas. Lisa got to hold Parker for the first time.
We moved to Connecticut in the Summer of 2005. It was fun being just a eight hour car drive from Lisa and Cody. They came to visit us in July of that summer. We went to the Naval Submarine Museum in Groton, CT.
We also went to the Misquamicut beach together in Rhode Island. It was fun seeing Lisa pregnant for the first time. She was expecting their first child in the Fall.
We spent the 4th of July together in Boston. We enjoyed watching the fireworks together down at the Esplanade.
We were also able to meet up with some of the Grant cousins in Palmyra that Summer. We had a great time seeing all the church sites.
We were also able to walk around the Palmyra Temple which had been dedicated a couple years prior. Looking back I am so glad we were able to have all these experiences together back East.
We drove out to Baltimore right before Tucker was born. I thought this picture was so sweet of Parker snuggling with Aunt Lisa.
They showed us all the sights around Maryland. We went and saw Fort McHenry and walked around the D.C. Temple.
We were able to drive to Maryland again when Tucker was born in September. We picked up Kev's Mom from the airport and we went straight to the hospital.
I was so excited to hold my nephew Tucker for the first time. I was finally an Aunt! It was beautiful how I made Lisa an Aunt and she also made me an Aunt. It connected us together in a special way.
We were all there when they brought Tucker home from the hospital. Parker was nine months old and Tucker was a couple days old. It has been really fun having these two cousins so close in age. It was sweet to see Lisa taking so well to her role of Mother.
We were able to meet up again in New York City in November of that year. Heather came too as she was living with Cody and Lisa at the time. Tucker was only a couple months old but Lisa was out and about with him strapped in his baby carrier.
We were all home for Christmas of 2006. Grandma watched all the grandkids while we went snowmobiling together. We snowmobiled to one of our favorite spots at the top of the mountain.
When Cody and Lisa came to visit in the Summer we went to Timp cave together. We all enjoyed hiking and being outdoors together.
When we were at the Ranch we took a cousin's picture. All these cute babies had been born in the last year or so. It was fun visiting with each other and sharing stories of our kids.
When Lisa and Cody came home to visit at Christmas of 2006 she surprised us all! She was five months pregnant and had just ran a half marathon. She had kept it a secret from all of us the whole time. We were both having girls and were due a month apart.
Lisa and her kids flew home in August before Heather's wedding. We took all the kids to the zoo together. Aunt Lisa had fun watching the bird show with everyone.
Heather and Dan were married on August 19th 2008. It was great having everyone all together again.
Lisa, Cody, and the kids moved back to Utah in December of 2008. It was so nice to have them living close by again. Lisa gave birth to her third baby Cole on January 26, 2009. This picture was taken of them at Kev's 30th birthday party.
In the Fall of 2009 we went up to Oktoberfest. It was a beautiful day!
We took pictures with the Foster side of the family up at the Cabin in September of 2009. Lisa and I were sitting side by side with our two babies. Hayden was a couple months old and Cole was 8 months old. Grandma Foster's health wasn't good and we wanted some pictures of the whole family.
On July 11, 2010 Lisa gave birth to her fourth child Blake. We were able to go visit them at the hospital. Hayden climbed up with Aunt Lisa for a picture. Hayden is almost exactly to the day one year older than Blake. Lisa shared with us her birth story. She barely made it to the hospital to have Blake. She didn't get an epidural and felt everything. She and Cody were both enjoying the amazing food at the hospital. They had a menu and could order fish and steak.
Grandma Foster passed away in December of 2010. I took this picture of Lisa and Cody at the funeral. It is one of my favorites of her. She looks beautiful with her red hair all curled and her gorgeous white smile.
In June of 2011 we went on a Foster family vacation to St. George. We stayed in a friends house down there and had a great time. One of the days we went boating at Sand Hollow, we hiked in Zion, and went to the movies.
Addy was born on October 24, 2011. Aunt Lisa and the cousins came to see her that day. Lisa was such a loving Aunt to all of my kids. She always made the effort to come see them when they were born and be there for birthdays and special events. She also sewed adorable hooded towels for each of my kids. She even had her own Etsy shop selling them.
We enjoyed spending time together at the cabin after Christmas. Lisa had mentioned that she had been having headaches the whole month of December. I remember my mother-in-law telling her she should get an MRI. A week later on January 6, 2012 we got the horrible news that Lisa had a brain tumor. We were all shocked and devastated.
She immediately was checked into Utah Valley Hospital. She was going to be having brain surgery in a couple days. I will never forget how she looked when we went to the hospital to see her that day. She was beautiful and smiling just like in this picture. We took her some pink Gerber daisies to cheer her up. She was so calm and you would never know that she had a brain tumor. I will also never forget the spirit that I felt that day when my husband, brother-in-laws, and father-in-law gave her a blessing. She went into surgery that Sunday. She was in surgery for six hours. We went to church that day fasting and praying that everything would go well with her surgery. Mckenna and Parker both fasted for their Aunt Lisa.
The surgery went extremely well and we were able to be there at the hospital when she started to wake up. We knew that a miracle had taken place in our family. It strengthened all of our testimonies. The next day Lisa was up and walking around with Grandpa Foster. She continued to amaze us with her recovery and determination to not let this get her down.
We found out a few weeks later from the Biopsy that Lisa's tumor was malignant. It was a Grade 3 Astrocytoma. She would need to undergo Chemotherapy and Radiation. It was not the news we wanted to hear. In February of 2012 Rose and Dede decided to do a fundraiser for Lisa. It was held at Rock Creek Pizza. The proceeds from all the food that night would go to help pay for Lisa's treatments. It was a successful fundraiser. Lisa had given our family pins that said "Cancer Sucks". We all wore them to support her. The pin looked the cutest on little Addy who was only four months old at the time. Lisa still continued to be positive and keep a smile on her face.
Even though Lisa was sick from the treatments she didn't let that stop her from living. She even ran a race not long after she finished her treatments. I love how Tucker and Aubrey are both running with her across the finish line. She even had a fundraiser in April. Her friend had put together a facebook page called "Running with Lisa". There was a huge turnout at the race. Kev and I were so disappointed that we couldn't be there. I had a broken foot and he was really sick with a stomach bug.
In May of that year Spence got his mission call to the California Carlsbad Mission! We were all there when he opened it up. Lisa's hair was starting to grow in but had patches from the radiation. She was so excited for her little brother. Spence was worried about leaving on his mission while Lisa had cancer. A tender mercy from our Heavenly Father was that while Spencer was on his mission Lisa's condition was stable. She made the most of the next two years with Cody and her kids.
In October we had a fun girls night out together. We went to the witch festival at Gardner Village. We all got dressed up and had a great time taking pictures.
Kev and I wanted to something memorable for Lisa's 31st birthday. We surprised her with tickets to The Forgotten Carols. I knew that she had always wanted to go. In November we took her to the show. We had a great time and towards the end Lisa realized that she knew one of the singers. She recognized her from her Junior Miss pageant days. She went up and reintroduced herself. She was so happy to reconnect with an old friend. I also remember sharing with her how I hoped this would be her best birthday year yet. She replied, "Every year that I am alive is the best!" It really got me thinking and she was right. She had a unique perspective on life and she never took it for granted.
In February of 2013 we were able to go to Mexico with Lisa, Cody, Heather, Dan,and some of Cody's cousins. A friend of Cody and Lisa offered them their house to stay at in Akumal. It is a beautiful house right on the beach. There were great places to snorkel right off the shore.
One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Coba. We rode bikes around to look at all the ruins. It is one of the few places were you can still climb on the ruins. Lisa had just finished her treatments before this trip. She was happy and full of energy. We are so glad that we got to take this trip with her.
One of Lisa's favorites quotes that Cody shared in her obituary is, "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So live." Stuart Scott. Lisa created a bucket list of things she wanted to accomplish and experience in her life. One of those was to run a Marathon. Her friend Katie Leale also ran it with her. You can see her smiling and finishing the race strong with her daughter Aubrey. It shows her determined spirit to not let cancer stop her from doing the things she loved.
Heather came home to visit for Thanksgiving of 2013. We took a picture of the four of us just chilling after dinner. We were missing Spencer who was still on his mission at the time.
We always had fun with Lisa at family parties. I took this picture at the Grant family Christmas party in 2013. Lisa had a close relationship with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
In May of 2013 Lisa rode in the Goldilocks 100 mile bike ride. It was also another goal on her bucket list. She rode right by our subdivision.
Our family stood on the side of the road and cheered her on. We even got in our car and followed her through our city. I remember another cyclist saying, "You would think this is the 'Tour de France' with all the cheering she is getting." I thought that remark was funny. I am sure the cyclist didn't know that Lisa had brain cancer and what a big deal this really was. We always enjoyed cheering Lisa on as she accomplished great things!
In August of 2014 we welcomed Spencer home from his mission. It was such a happy reunion for all of us! Spence was thrilled to see Lisa and that she was doing so well.
In November Lisa, Aubrey, Mckenna, and Parker all played in Grandpas recital. I am sure it made my father-in-law proud to have his daughter and three of his grandkids playing that day. Lisa learned to play the piano from her Dad. She started playing more often and participating in the recitals during those last few years. I remember her saying that playing the piano was relaxing for her when she was going through hard times with cancer. She played beautifully and was so confident at all the recitals I heard her play at.
Grandpa Foster passed away January 25, 2015. We were all sad but also glad that he was with Grandma Foster again. The girls all got to choose a flower arrangement to take home. I thought this was such a cute picture of all of us with our flowers. Heather was only three months away from having Bailey.
It was only a couple weeks later that we found out Lisa had another tumor. It was a Grade 3 tumor on her cerebellum. The doctors decided to operate again. Tucker and Blake both shaved their heads to show support for their Mom. Luckily Lisa only had to shave the back underside of her hair.
In March we got together before Lisa had her surgery. Ken played the song that he wrote for Lisa. It was beautiful and I am glad we were there to hear it. Kevin was also able to help give Lisa a blessing that night. The surgery went really well. She had her same surgeon from her previous tumor. It was such a blessing and relief to all of us.
Lisa had more radiation after this tumor. She continued to have a positive attitude and lived life to the fullest. We got together for dinner and celebrated Sue's birthday. We all surprised her with a photo book. Each of us had added pictures and shared memories.
We had fun together at the Ranch in July. Heather and her kids came down from Washington. It was the first time that most of us met Bailey. We all adore her and love having a little baby in the family again.
In December Lisa went in for another routine MRI. The scans showed another tumor. It was a Grade 4 Glioblastoma. It was not good news. It had only been a few months since her last tumor. It was deeper into her brain this time and surgery was not an option. They immediately started her on medication to stop the tumor from growing. We were praying and still hopeful that she would be blessed to live longer.
We spent a lot of time together through the holidays. I captured this sweet moment between Hayden and Aunt Lisa. She was snuggling with him and asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. We also had fun up at the cabin after Christmas. We even watched some old home videos one night. Lisa, Kevin, and Spence were all laughing and reminiscing together.
We spent New Years Day 2016 together. We went and saw a movie, played games, and went to Pizza Pie Cafe together. I remember talking with Lisa about what she got for Christmas. Cody had given her a gift card to the outlet mall and told her to spend the money on herself. She was telling me about what she had bought so far.
When we took these pictures we had no idea that these would be the last pictures taken of all of them together.
In January Lisa was losing some of her short term memory. Heather and Bailey came up for a week to be with Lisa and help her out. Addy and I drove up one morning so that we could all hang out together. We took a picture of just us girls. At this point Lisa was having a hard time remembering what day it was and keeping her kids schedules straight. Her long term memory was great and we talked all about when she was a nanny in Chicago and when she met Cody.
At the beginning of February Lisa was having more seizures. They had her stay for a few days at Huntsman Cancer Institute. They did a sleep study and she had another MRI. Kev and I were able to go up one night and visit with her. She was happy to see us and we had a great time talking. We brought her up a caramel apple which was one of her favorites. Sue had been working on her scrapbooks. We had fun looking through them together. They were the pages from when she did cheerleading and a lot of the dances she went too. The results from the MRI were not good and her tumor had tripled in size in a month. It was more sad and hard news. Kev and I both had to accept the fact that she was not going to get better this time.
On February 12th we had a memorable day with Lisa. It was Kev's Friday off from work and we got to spend the whole day with her! We loved every minute. We knew that we didn't have much time left with her and we always tried to make the most of what time we did have. When Lisa was having her Rambo treatments she became obsessed with Taco Bell cheesy sauce. She talked about it all the time so Kev and I took her to lunch there and she was so happy.
We also took her up to Hunstman for her Rambo treatment. She was smiling and happy because they gave her some orange juice. We were all happily surprised when she was in and out of her treatment in a half hour. We took her to dinner at Red Robin after. We enjoyed all the time we spent talking and reminiscing with her. She told us about how she really wanted to walk on a frozen lake. We found out later on that it was something on her bucket list. A couple weeks later she did get to walk on Strawberry Reservoir with Cody and the kids.
About a week later Cody made the hard decision to stop Lisa's treatments. The tumor was continuing to grow and the treatments were wearing her down. A part of Lisa's favorite quote about cancer reads, "And when you get too tired to fight, lay down and rest and let somebody else fight for you."
It was our time and opportunity to fight for Lisa. We were grateful for the chance to help take care of her in a small way. We tried to go up and visit her once a week. We went up one Friday after the Provo City temple open house. It was good for the kids to see her and spend some time with her as well.
We were there when her cute kids came home from school. Aubrey had won a medal in her school spelling bee. It was sweet to hear her telling her Mom all about it.
The month of March was hard. Lisa's short term memory was gone and her long term memory was starting to go. It even began to be hard to have a conversation with her. We would just talk to her most of the time. It was nice when Cody was there and could fill us in on how she was doing. It was heartbreaking to see her health decline. She was no longer her talkative and sometimes sassy self.
Even though our visits were hard we were glad to just see her. Kevin and I have talked several times about what a blessing it has been that we live close by. I remember talking to Lisa once and I asked her is she was afraid to die. She was very lucid when she answered me and said she wasn't afraid to die but only worried about leaving her husband and kids. It was a memorable conversation. I held it together while we were there but cried on the way home. I was once again so impressed with Lisa's bravery and courage.
Lisa was always happy when we came to see her. She always had a huge smile on her face no matter how she was feeling. I can picture her opening the front door and telling us to come on in. She gave the best hugs. I will always remember when we went to leave she would hug me and hug Kev and then started the same process all over. She would forget that she had already hugged us goodbye. I remember telling her that we would take all the hugs we could get.
Mckenna enjoyed going to visit her Aunt Lisa. We would always have them stand back to back to see who was taller. Mckenna was catching up in height to her Aunt. One funny conversation we had with her I will always remember. It was late and Mckenna was complaining that she still had to go home shower and shave. Lisa chimed in with, "At least you can shave your own legs, my husband has to shave mine!" Lisa could always put things into perspective for us. I remember at times during those last few months thinking that I had things hard and then I would remember Lisa and all she was going through. It made me realize how small my own problems were in comparison. If she could go through life with a positive attitude then I could as well.
The last couple weeks of April Lisa's health started to decline rapidly. She could no longer get around without help and had to stay upstairs. We knew it would be hard when we went to see her on Friday April 22nd. We sat with her up her room. The blinds were open so she could look outside and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains. It was really hard to carry on a conversation. She would answer occasionally when we talked to her. I love how Kevin is smiling in this picture. It is one of the reasons I love him. He also could have a smile on his face and see the positive during such a difficult time. Later that night Lisa had a grandmal seizure. On Saturday she was in a coma. We went up to say our goodbyes. I cried all morning and was a mess until we got there. Kev was having a hard time but was calm. When we got to the house there was a sweet peaceful feeling. I believe that it was Lisa's spirit. She looked so peaceful as she lay there like she was sleeping. Kevin, Spencer, Cody, and I sat around quietly talking. We even laughed as we talked about Lisa and some of the funny things that she did. Before we left Kevin gave Cody a priesthood blessing. My father-in-law also gave my mother-in-law one. There was such a calm and peaceful feeling in the room. It was such a beautiful experience.
Lisa passed away peacefully on Monday April 25th. It was her and Cody's 13th Wedding Anniversary that day. We are so sad but also grateful that after Lisa's long battle with cancer she didn't have to suffer anymore. When Kev heard the news he thought he would be okay but it hit him hard. I am so grateful he was at home when he got the news. I was able to just hold him and let him cry.
Our kids at the viewing before Lisa's funeral. We were all really sad but thankful for all the love and support from family and friends.
There were so many people at the viewings who came to show their love.
I love this picture of Grandma Grant holding Lisa's two youngest boys Cole and Blake.
Halle and Aubrey are the cutest cousins. I am so glad they have each other. Aubrey had a big beautiful smile on her face just like her Mom.
I will always remember this sweet moment of Tucker with his Mom. It broke my heart. My heart aches for my nephews and nieces. I know how hard it is to lose a Mom. I was sixteen when my mother passed away. I still think of her and miss her everyday.
The funeral was a beautiful tribute to Lisa. She had planned her whole funeral. Heather and Cody both gave amazing talks. My father-in-law made us all cry when he played the song he composed for Lisa. I have never seen so many people at a funeral. The church was filled to overflowing. There were people sitting on the stage and so many that they filled the stand behind the pulpit. I saw Tucker turning around and looking back at one point. I made sure to tell him that all these people knew and loved his Mom. I hope he never forgets that.
The sweetest moment at the cemetery was when Cody pulled a flower from on top of the casket and gave it to his darling Aubrey.
Kev and I wore our cancer sucks pins to her funeral. He had his on the inside of his suit jacket and mine hid under the ruffle on my shirt. Lisa gave these to us at one of her fundraisers and really loved them. We thought she would get a kick out of us wearing them to her funeral. It was our inside joke. We only showed them to people we knew would appreciate them.
We took a picture with all the Grant family that was there at the funeral. We love our Grant family! They have been so supportive and loving to us.
It was a memorable day celebrating Lisa. I took a picture of Kev with his parents and siblings. When we were looking at them later on I told Kev that the picture just doesn't look right without Lisa's beautiful smiling face in it.
Cousin Jen was sweet to take some pictures of our family. I am so grateful that my kids had the chance to know their Aunt Lisa. She has inspired all of us. Our testimonies of the Plan of Salvation have been strengthened by her. We are so grateful for the strength we have received from praying for her, fasting for her, being witness to priesthood blessings, and seeing miracles. We know if we live our lives as she did that we can be with her again someday. It brings us comfort to know that Grandpa and Grandma Foster were there to welcome their "Lisa Darling" into heaven. We know that they will take good care of her. Lisa truly overcame cancer by the way she lived her life. I will never forget her positive attitude and gorgeous smile. She has touched so many lives and will continue to inspire many with her example.
