116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Ernst Foerster
ERNST FOERSTER
St. Croix
Ernst Joachim Foerster was born Tuesday, Jan. 22, 1924, in Annaberg (Erzgebirge), Saxony, Germany. His parents were Dr. Hans Ewald Foerster and Agathe Foerster nee Laue. He died Jan. 26, 2015, in Christiansted, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands.
He is survived by three children: Andrea Smith of Charlotte, N.C., Hans Foerster of Marion, Iowa, and Dr. Ernst-Christoph Foerster of Muenster, Germany; nine grandchildren: Alex, Sasha, Helen, Sarah, Julia, Brian, Joachim, Friedrich and Theodor; and his younger sister, Gisela Sander of Berlin, Germany.
He was a soldier by obligation, a lifelong entrepreneur by necessity, but a sailor by preference. He lived in four countries on three continents before settling in St. Croix in 1970.
Beyond sailing, he enjoyed cooking for his family and reading, particularly about history and current events.
A gathering in his honor will be held at The Palms at Pelican Cove on St. Croix, USVI, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 30, followed by a private burial at sea.
The sea brought him peace.
Daily Newsletters