It was with a great deal of sadness I learned of the death of Steve Foster.

In his last few years here on Grand Cayman before he became very ill I would have a drink with Steve Foster in Fidel Murphy’s whilst he waited for his Foster buddies to join him. He was now in retirement.

He was a great joy to listen to. He was much disturbed when I told him I never liked visiting Cayman Brac and I soon learnt he loved the Brac. He spent his time between there and Grand Cayman.

I hadn’t realised he liked gardening but knew he loved fishing. He knew I went to church and he was quick to tell me he loved God, too. He also liked a good drink he told me with a smile. He was a great conversationalist. He would chat to strangers and friends alike. And it wasn’t one sided. He asked questions, too.

What he never boasted about was his contribution to the Cayman Islands. Along with his more famous brother, David, he started Foster’s Food Fair. Before that the two of them took over Cico Rent-a-Car (now Cico Avis) from their cousin Woodrow.

Steve’s great fishing prize is a 472-pound marlin, caught with the help of friends in 1982. It hangs in his Cayman Brac home proudly on a wall.

He could have drowned catching the fish as he went overboard and had to be lifted back to safety.

A service was held in Grand Cayman for his great life on Easter Sunday at The First Baptist Church. Of course, the church was packed.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. April 22 at the Cayman Brac Seamen’s Centre. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman Veterans and Seamen’s Association or to Cayman HospiceCare.

He died on April 6 at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, from pulmonary complications.

Minard Steve Foster was 78. RIP. You will long be remembered.