Obituaries : * Howell (Steve) Foster Jr.; Retired Deputy

Howell (Steve) Jennings Foster Jr., a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, has died at his Lancaster home. He was 57.

Foster died Friday of cancer, said his wife, Dorine M. Foster.

Born in Thomas, Okla., Foster served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1960. He joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 1964 and worked at several locations, including the Wayside Honor Rancho in Saugus, courthouses in Santa Clarita and San Fernando and on patrol in the Antelope Valley from 1974 to 1980. Foster also taught administration of justice at Antelope Valley Community College in the 1970s. He worked for the Sheriff’s Department until his retirement in 1989.

He is survived by his wife of 33 years; sons, David M. Chaffey of Lancaster and Mica S. Foster of San Clemente; daughters, Dale A. Avery of Westchester, Valerie A. Fontaine of West Los Angeles and Lani A. Revell of Newhall; brothers, Stephen Foster of Canyon Country, Jack Foster of Carmi, Ill., Wylie Foster of Huntsville, Ala., and David Foster of Austin, Tex.; sister, Margaret Bradley of North Hollywood, and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Friday at Temple Beth Knesset Bamidbar, 1611 E. Ave. J in Lancaster. Groman-Eden Mortuary in Mission Hills is handling the arrangements.

Donations can be made in Foster’s name to the American Cancer Society.