Peter David Foster Sr.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Dr. Peter David Foster, Sr., passed away on April 20, 2026, due to complications related to dementia. He was, quite simply, the best of us—steadfast, brilliant, deeply kind, and endlessly curious. His family feels profoundly fortunate to have shared life with him, and his absence leaves an immeasurable space.

Peter was born on Dec. 30, 1941, in Waterville, Maine, the oldest son of Roland and Elaine Foster (nee King and later Pooler). He spent his childhood in nearby Fairfield, where he developed the quiet discipline and strong sense of purpose that would guide him throughout his life. He graduated from Immaculate Heart of Mary School in 1955 and from Lawrence High School in 1959 before attending the University of Maine, where he earned his degree in Chemistry in 1963.

His love of science was not simply professional—it was foundational to the way he understood the world. He believed deeply in reason, evidence, and the pursuit of truth. Chemistry was both his vocation and his lifelong intellectual home.

That passion took him to Houston, Texas, where he pursued graduate studies at Rice University in physical chemistry. There, he studied under Dr. Robert F. Curl Jr., who would later receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of fullerenes. Peter earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in 1966, beginning a distinguished scientific career marked by rigor, integrity, and a genuine joy in learning.

In 1964, he married his lifelong sweetheart, Judy St. Peter, beginning a marriage that would span 61 remarkable years. Together they built a family and a life rooted in loyalty and shared purpose.

Their first daughter, Erin, was born during Peter’s graduate school years in Texas. A move to Champaign-Urbana followed, where he completed postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During that time, their son, Peter Jr., was born. The family then moved to Columbia, Md., where Peter joined Westvaco Corporation as a senior scientist, and where their daughter, Sarah, was born.

In time, Peter was offered a position with Keyes Fibre Corp (later called Chinet and then Huhtamaki), a move that brought the family back to his home state and to the company where both of his parents and many members of his extended family had worked. Peter would later become Director of Research, a role that suited both his scientific mind and his thoughtful leadership, and which resulted in several patents for food packaging.

Even in retirement, his curiosity never dimmed. He spent happy times auditing chemistry courses at Colby College, where he delighted in engaging with students and faculty alike, serving as a teaching assistant and mentor for a generation of students.

Peter’s adult years in Maine were spent variously in Waterville, at a Snow Pond site in Oakland which was first the family camp and then a permanent home, and later at a condominium in Portland where he enjoyed the peace of being near the water. They later spent part of each year at a second home on Hilton Head Island, S.C., also a coastal community.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Judy Foster; daughter, Erin Foster and her husband Jeff Blatt of Scarsdale, N.Y., son, Peter David Foster Jr. of East Burke, Vt., and daughter, Sarah Foster of Brighton, Mass. He also leaves his cherished granddaughters Charlotte Blatt and her husband, Dr. Jack Greenberg, and twins Louisa and Josephine Blatt, all of Brooklyn, N.Y.; He is also survived by his brother, John Foster, and his wife Rebecca of Florida.

Peter will be remembered for his intellect, integrity, and his belief that a life well lived is one guided by curiosity. He leaves behind not only a loving family but a legacy of thoughtfulness, generosity, and quiet excellence. He will be deeply missed.