Bill and Peggy Foster Endowed Scholarship

The Fund was established by the Margaret E. Foster Family Partnership LLLP in memory of Bill and Peggy Foster and the impact they had in the Grand Junction swim community as well as the impact swimming has had on the Foster family. All seven of Bill and Peggy Foster’s children grew up swimming. Like many Grand Valley residents, the Fosters lived by an irrigation canal so it was common sense as well as the fun and competition of swimming that they all should swim. “I think the competition makes you sharper, makes you more aware and helps teach you how to manage your time,” said Peggy Foster in explaining why she decided to donate $100,000 for the Bill and Peggy Foster Endowed Scholarship for swimmers. “Swimming is a great lifetime sport,” she said. Bill, originally from Laramie, WY, and Peggy, originally from Nashville, TN, met on a blind date in 1950 while Bill was serving in the National Guard. Bill had memorized the eye chart to get in the service but when his unit was called to serve in Korea and it was discovered that he had vision problems he was given a medical discharge. He stayed in Nashville, selling encyclopedias and courting Peggy. They married in December 1951. Their first child, Ann, was born in Wyoming while Bill was finishing law school. William Edward II was born in Denver and, in 1956, Bill and Peggy moved to Grand Junction, where the rest of their children – Timothy, Elizabeth, Laura, Peter and Michael – were born. All seven of the Foster children completed college. Bill practiced law in Grand Junction, was a president of the Grand Junction Lions Club and took the lead in developing the Powderhorn Ski Area. He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1964 and served one term. Bill passed away in 1983. Peggy has long been active in the community, serving of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, on the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation Board, the Colorado Council for the Arts and the local board of Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting.
Bill and Peggy were among the founders of the Dolphins swim team and Bill was always the starter and always there encouraging the swimmers.