Gerald Riker 'Skin' Foster, 88

Gerald Riker "Skin" Foster died July 28, 2009, at his home in Whitefish, after spending what he knew would be his final days joking with family, greeting friends, and eating his favorite foods. He was 88 years old.

Skin was born Nov. 29, 1920, in Littlefork, Minn., the fourth of Leo and Belle Foster's seven mischievous children. He traveled to Montana for the first time at 16, when he and two buddies jumped a boxcar to Bemidji, Minn., to work in the mines - then fell asleep. They awoke in Minot, N.D., and decided to ride on to Montana, where they spent the summer laying railroad track from Essex to Rexford. On weekends, they rode a handcart into Whitefish for loganberry wine.

In April 1942, after arguing with an officer in the Army draft office, he promptly marched down the hall to join the Marines. He was wounded in action on Guam on July 28, 1944, and spent the following year in the hospital threatening doctors who wanted to amputate his damaged leg. He kept the leg - and also his Littlefork sweetheart, Edith "Chuckie" Kjemprud, whom he married in the hospital on Oct. 7, 1944. He was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service, but he never spoke of them.

In 1950, Skin and Chuckie moved to Whitefish, where Chuckie raised their five children, and Skin hauled logs, graded roads and perpetrated mischief at every opportunity. After he retired, he and Chuckie traveled the country, cared for their many gardens, and passed their afternoons playing cards and bickering over whether he cheated (Yes, he did.).

Skin was full of stories, mostly unbelievable and mostly true. Multiple witnesses confirm that fish actually clambered to bite his hooks. He baked cookies solely to give them away. He peppered his speech with bemusing Skinisms, like his favorite admonishment, "Don't be Absorbine Junior!" And he maintained his shirt pockets - packed with gum, toothpicks, jelly beans, coins, and the occasional set of teeth - as treasure troves for visiting children.

Skin was preceded in death by his parents; his five brothers; and Chuckie, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2005.

He is survived by his sister, Myrtle Fairchild, of Arden Hills, Minn.; his four daughters and their husbands, Anita and Todd Malone of Whitefish, Beth and Will Saltonstall of Anchorage, Alaska, Kit and Dennis Hagenston of Billings, and Patty and Philip Battaglia of Kalama, Wash.; his son, Ike, and Ike's wife, Kym; nine grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, with a reception to follow at Grouse Mountain Lodge.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Home Options Hospice or the Alzheimer's Association.

Austin Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.