Obituary of John Foster Irwin

John Foster Irwin, 73, of Alpine, Utah, passed on from this life on December 8, 2015, in Salt Lake City. Foster is remembered by family and friends in West Orange, New Jersey; Detroit; Middleton, Wisconsin and Alpine as an excellent husband, father, grandfather, hard worker, scientist, company founder, home teacher, church leader, Scout leader, coach, devoted genealogist and farmer-at-heart. He was always wise in his counsel, direct in his communication and led by example rather than by words. His family will miss his infectious smile, warm and piercing eyes and loving winks. Foster devoted his life to building up his immediate and extended family -- living and dead. He was a committed Christian and Latter-day Saint, having joined the LDS faith in Rochester, New York in 1970. He volunteered in his community and within his church, where he served faithfully whether as a bishop, stake executive secretary, Scoutmaster, Sunday school teacher or home teacher. He was passionate about family history and genealogy, and he worked tirelessly to find new family connections in order to embrace his eternal family. He founded multiple companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including GenTrac of Middleton, Wisconsin, and BioPharm Laboratories of Bluffdale, Utah. He received a B.S. from Rutgers University in 1964, and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 1969. Foster is survived by his wife Beverly, whom he married on August 22, 1964, in West Orange, New Jersey. They were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple in 1971. He is also survived by his eight children, Brian (wife Annie), Todd (Heather), Jonathan, Scott (Cristina), Keith (Suzie), Kim Mano (husband Jon), Laurie Maliwanag (Ricky), and Robert (Hali), along with 24 grandchildren, his sister, Kathleen O’Connell, and brother, George Irwin. Foster was born in 1942 to John and Georgina Irwin in Newark, New Jersey. Services will be held at the LDS Chapel at 901 East Village Way in Alpine on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 1:00 pm. A viewing will be held from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm at the church. An additional viewing will be held at Anderson & Sons Mortuary at 6141 West 11000 North (SR 92), Highland, on Friday, Dec. 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Please share a memory at andersonmortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in Foster’s name can be made to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, 500 Huntsman Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108.