Dr. Vernon W. Foster; Retired Physician

A memorial service is scheduled March 16 for Dr. Vernon W. Foster, a retired San Fernando Valley physician who helped found the Canoga Park Seventh-day Adventist Community Church and traveled the world giving free stop-smoking clinics.

A former Granada Hills resident, Foster died Jan. 12 of a heart attack at his home in Meadow Vista, Calif., said Carol Mayes, church press relations secretary. He was 76.

Born in Burbank, Foster spent his childhood in Cuba where his parents were missionaries. He graduated from Loma Linda University and worked as a physician for the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and public health services. He began his practice in Canoga Park in the mid-1940s.

Under the auspices of his church, Foster traveled the world presenting the “Five-Day Plan to Stop Smoking” that was devised in the late 1950s.

Foster retired from practice in 1976 and later spent four years in Africa, serving as health director for the Trans-Africa Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Foster was past president of the San Fernando Valley district of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn., former board member of the Los Angeles County unit of the American Cancer Society and chief of staff for several local hospitals. He helped found the Northridge Hospital Foundation, now called Northridge Hospital Medical Center, and was a former president of the Rotary Club in Canoga Park.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Betty; daughters Janet Winn of Visalia, Calif., and Pamela Mamoulalis of Weimar, Calif.; brother Dr. Gordon Foster of Oakdale, Calif.; sisters Alfreda Dennis of Mariposa, Calif., Alicia Werner of Merlin, Ore., and Hazel Lovitt of Ukiah, Calif., and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. March 16 at the Canoga Park Seventh-day Adventist Community Church, 20550 Roscoe Blvd. Donations can be made in Foster’s name to the Weimar Institute, P.O. Box 486, Weimar, Calif. 95736-0486.