Hadley Lee Foster, 83, of Collinsville, Ill., born Nov. 15, 1928, in Marion, Ky., went home to join his parents on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012.



Hadley retired from the St. Louis Terminal Railroad as a locomotive engineer of 37 years and retired in 1989. Later he became a crop duster. He was a very active member of the American Legion Post 365 in Collinsville. Hadley was a member of the First Baptist Church of O'Fallon, Ill., and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He was the former president of The Compass Club of the St Louis Terminal Railroad.



Hadley will be remembered as a person who always wanted to help and volunteer and his funny sense of humor. He was witty up until the end. He loved his family the most and was very proud of his wife of 61 years. He would love sharing the fact "my wife is a nurse, I am lucky to have a nurse living with me". He was very proud of his sons-in-law and grandson with following in his footsteps by their association with the railroad.



He was preceded in death by his parents, Jake and Dorothy, nee Lee, Foster.



Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Mary Louise, nee Grissom, Foster; two daughters, Vicki (Roger) Cocker of Collinsville, Ill., and Sheri (Bill) Broyles of Maryville, Ill.; five grandchildren, Aaron (Angie) Broyles of O'Fallon, Ill., Amy (Joshua) Heater of St. Louis, Mo., Justin (MacKenzie) Broyles of Collinsville, Ill., Ryan (Caitlin) Cocker of Granite City, Ill., and Alexander Hadley Broyles of Maryville, Ill.; 11 great-grandchildren, Wyatt, Will, Peyton, and Brooke Broyles, Sophia, Jack, and Jesse Heater and Taylor and Justin Cash Broyles and Elijah and Lola Cocker; three brothers, Coleman "Bud" (Beverly) Foster of Pompano, Fla., Jerry (Susan) Foster of Brownsville, Tenn., and Jan (Frances) Foster of Bessemer City, N.C.; a sister, Barbara Witt of Broken Arrow, Okla.; and numerous nieces and nephews.



Memorials may be made at the funeral home to either the Alzheimer's Association or St. John's Community Care.



Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, at Herr Funeral Home, Collinsville, Ill.



Funeral: Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at the funeral home with Dr. Doug Munton and Pastor Skip Leininger officiating. Interment will be at Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville, Ill.