SPENCER – Br. Paul Forster, O.C.S.O. of St. Joseph's Abbey, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 19th at the abbey infirmary.
Born Paul Francis Forster, in Union City, N.J., the second child of John and Josephine (née Walker) Forster in 1922, he graduated from Holy Family High School in Union City, N.J. and afterward was employed as a sheet metal worker. He was a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, serving in Europe as a teletypewriter mechanic. After an honorable discharge he worked as an electrical engineer for the Bell Telephone Company in New Jersey.
In 1950 he entered Saint Joseph's Abbey as a Lay Brother, taking the name Brother Nivard. Soon after his novitiate he was sent to contribute his mechanical skills in establishing the foundation of two of St. Joseph's Abbey's daughter-houses: St. Benedict's Abbey in Snowmass, Colorado and Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles in Azul, Argentina. He pronounced his solemn vows in 1957. Returning to the abbey at Spencer to become its principal electrician and builder, he oversaw the construction and maintenance of the abbey's main wood-chip burning heating system. He was also an avid gardener, cultivating many varieties of beautiful plants and flowers.
Br. Paul is pre-deceased by his sister, Claire Spano, his sisters who also entered religious life, Sr. Margaret Forster, C.P. and Sr. Grace Forster, O.C.S.O., and his brother, Thomas Forster. Br. Paul is survived by his brothers, John R. Foster, Jr., Joseph W. Forster, William O. Forster, Sr., and his sister, Marie Stengele, numerous nieces and nephews, as well as his monastic brothers at the abbey.
Br. Paul's monastic brothers especially wish to thank the lay staff at St. Joseph's Abbey infirmary for their dedicated care of him in his final years. With gratitude for the gift of his presence among us, the monks commend Br. Paul's soul to your prayers. There are no calling hours. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph's Abbey on Thursday, January 22, at 9 A.M. Burial is in the abbey cemetery.