Karen S. “Kim” Foreman was born to Arthur Earl Smith Jr. and Wilma Eddins Smith on Monday, May 9, 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Kim lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Lafayette, Louisiana, and finally Houston, Texas where she spent the remainder of her years. She attended Westchester Sr. High School in Houston, Texas, Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Blinn College in Brenham, Texas and finally Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where she majored in Elementary Education.
While attending Westchester Sr. High School in 1973 she met Robert A. Foreman, Jr., where they were an inseparable pair during their Senior Year in High School and subsequent College years. In 1977 she married Robert and they started their 34 years of life together. She had two Sons, Michael Allen Foreman, in 1980, and Brian Earl Foreman in 1983.
Kim joined the Order of the Eastern Star in 1979, and the Social Order of the Beauceant, the Daughters of the Nile and the Ladies Oriental Shrine, and Order of the Amaranth subsequently and just recently became active in the Ladies Auxiliary of Chinar Grotto. Kim served as Worthy Matron of her Eastern Star Chapter, President of two Beauceant Assemblies, Royal Matron of the Amaranth and was currently installed as President of the Ladies Auxiliary of Chinar Grotto and Secretary of her Eastern Star Chapter.
When her boys were younger, Kim was very active in their lives and drove them to Scout, School and Sports events, attended Tae Kwon Do classes with them (she became a Red Belt), and was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leader. She attended several Scout Camps with her Boys, and served in a variety of capacities as they went through different activities, always focusing on being a part of their lives.
Kim had several business interests over the years, and for the past several years was a Realtor. This was one of her proudest achievements and she remained an active Realtor until her passing. She was also an Amateur Radio Operator and helped form a Radio Club in the Oak Forest area.
Kim was diagnosed with Breast Cancer when she was Forty, and fought a great fight against the disease for 16 years. Kim packed as much living into the 16 years after she was diagnosed with Cancer, as she did the first 40 years before she had the disease. She was an inspiration for all and right until the end was living with the disease on her own terms, and never let it slow her down.
Kim is survived by her husband of 34 years, Robert Foreman, her two Sons, Michael and Brian Foreman, a wonderful daughter-in-law Whitney Foreman, and soon to arrive her first Granddaughter Madison Foreman. Also surviving Kim is her Mother Wilma E. Ritter and her husband Keith Ritter, her Father Arthur E. Smith and his wife Gloria Smith, her Brother Cary Smith and his wife Jeanne, her Brother Greg Smith and his wife Ava and their children Trinity, Truett, and the twins Beckett and Campbell, her Mother-in-Law Katherine D. Foreman and her Brother-in-Law Howard Foreman and his wife Jodi and their children and grandchild. She also counts as family a myriad of friends in Masonic Organizations in Texas and across the Country that have been close to her over the past 35 years and there is not room here to name them all.
Kim was a lifelong member of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. She was also a member of Chapelwood United Methodist Church for a time, where she was married by Doctor Kelley Williams and was an active member of the Youth Choir while at Chapelwood United Methodist Church.
Kim went to be with her Lord on Friday, January 13, 2012 and her Memorial Service will be at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 11AM. Memorial Drive UMC is located at 12955 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas 77079. There will be a reception at the Church after the service to celebrate her life. Her remains will be interred in the Columbarium at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church after the Memorial Service. Our sincere thanks to the Pastors and Members of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church for their love, support, and assistance in preparing this service. Our thanks also to the Ladies of the Order of the Eastern Star who will provide refreshments at the reception. Kim would have truly enjoyed this celebration of her life.
Any donations or remembrances in lieu of flowers should be made to Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, or to the charities of the Order of the Eastern Star, Social Order of the Beauceant or Order of the Amaranth.
Memorial Drive United Methodist Church
Karen S. “Kim” Foreman was born to Arthur Earl Smith Jr. and Wilma Eddins Smith on Monday, May 9, 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Kim lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Lafayette, Louisiana, and finally Houston, Texas where she spent the remainder of her years. She attended Westchester Sr. High School in Houston, Texas, Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Blinn College in Brenham, Texas and finally Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where she majored in Elementary Education.
While attending Westchester Sr. High School in 1973 she met Robert A. Foreman, Jr., where they were an inseparable pair during their Senior Year in High School and subsequent College years. In 1977 she married Robert and they started their 34 years of life together. She had two Sons, Michael Allen Foreman, in 1980, and Brian Earl Foreman in 1983.
Kim joined the Order of the Eastern Star in 1979, and the Social Order of the Beauceant, the Daughters of the Nile and the Ladies Oriental Shrine, and Order of the Amaranth subsequently and just recently became active in the Ladies Auxiliary of Chinar Grotto. Kim served as Worthy Matron of her Eastern Star Chapter, President of two Beauceant Assemblies, Royal Matron of the Amaranth and was currently installed as President of the Ladies Auxiliary of Chinar Grotto and Secretary of her Eastern Star Chapter.
When her boys were younger, Kim was very active in their lives and drove them to Scout, School and Sports events, attended Tae Kwon Do classes with them (she became a Red Belt), and was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leader. She attended several Scout Camps with her Boys, and served in a variety of capacities as they went through different activities, always focusing on being a part of their lives.
Kim had several business interests over the years, and for the past several years was a Realtor. This was one of her proudest achievements and she remained an active Realtor until her passing. She was also an Amateur Radio Operator and helped form a Radio Club in the Oak Forest area.
Kim was diagnosed with Breast Cancer when she was Forty, and fought a great fight against the disease for 16 years. Kim packed as much living into the 16 years after she was diagnosed with Cancer, as she did the first 40 years before she had the disease. She was an inspiration for all and right until the end was living with the disease on her own terms, and never let it slow her down.
Kim is survived by her husband of 34 years, Robert Foreman, her two Sons, Michael and Brian Foreman, a wonderful daughter-in-law Whitney Foreman, and soon to arrive her first Granddaughter Madison Foreman. Also surviving Kim is her Mother Wilma E. Ritter and her husband Keith Ritter, her Father Arthur E. Smith and his wife Gloria Smith, her Brother Cary Smith and his wife Jeanne, her Brother Greg Smith and his wife Ava and their children Trinity, Truett, and the twins Beckett and Campbell, her Mother-in-Law Katherine D. Foreman and her Brother-in-Law Howard Foreman and his wife Jodi and their children and grandchild. She also counts as family a myriad of friends in Masonic Organizations in Texas and across the Country that have been close to her over the past 35 years and there is not room here to name them all.
Kim was a lifelong member of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. She was also a member of Chapelwood United Methodist Church for a time, where she was married by Doctor Kelley Williams and was an active member of the Youth Choir while at Chapelwood United Methodist Church.
Kim went to be with her Lord on Friday, January 13, 2012 and her Memorial Service will be at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 11AM. Memorial Drive UMC is located at 12955 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas 77079. There will be a reception at the Church after the service to celebrate her life. Her remains will be interred in the Columbarium at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church after the Memorial Service. Our sincere thanks to the Pastors and Members of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church for their love, support, and assistance in preparing this service. Our thanks also to the Ladies of the Order of the Eastern Star who will provide refreshments at the reception. Kim would have truly enjoyed this celebration of her life.
Any donations or remembrances in lieu of flowers should be made to Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, or to the charities of the Order of the Eastern Star, Social Order of the Beauceant or Order of the Amaranth.
Memorial Drive United Methodist Church
12955 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079.
Website Link
Order of the Eastern Star
Website Link
Social Order of the Beauceant
Website Link
Order of the Amaranth
Website Link
Knights Templar Eye Foundation
Website Link
For the members of Fairbanks Lodge 1363 and myself we send our heart felt condolences, and send our prayers to Karen and those she left behind. Please feel free to contact us if we are needed, in any capacity.
Fraternally,
James M. Bennett
PM Fairbanks Lodge
DDGM 30B 2012
I met Kim only once, but she made a deep impression. She had a warmth that could fill the air around her almost tangibly. When she said "pleased to meet you" and "take care" at the beginning and end of our one meeting, they were not empty courtesies - her pleasure and her caring were palpable. I did not know her, but I will miss her.
I've know Kim Foreman for as long as I've known Michael, and Michael is, at least for the time being, my oldest and dearest friend. To say that he is family is the understatement of the century, and his family is, by as much default as love, my family. Blood relation or not, Michael is my brother, and Kim was as dear to me as my own mother. Her death, as expected as it was, as peaceful as it was, in my mind is still nothing less than an stomach wrenching loss.
I'm not much of a believer in the Organized Church. I have little use for most strictly delineated sects that claim to have the direct line to heaven. Ironically, I am a firm and absolute believer in God; I simply believe one will be judged on the content and character of ones Soul. And in that regard, Kim Foreman was second to absolutely no one.
Her soul, from the first time I met her in highschool to the very last time the past December, blinded me. It was a radiant beacon of Gods light in this world. She was the absolute purest demonstration that being a Christian doesn't mean just going to church, it doesn't mean tithing and calling it a day, it doesn't mean singing a joyful song. She lived her life in the truest example of Christ, day in and day out. She so gracefully embraced the most difficult, the most tragic, the most trying test of faith that one could ever face with the grace of God himself; to keep your faith with the knowledge of your own impending death.
In the course of my life, I've seen many different kinds of courage. Paraphrasing Jim Baen, the most obvious for of courage I have seen is what is typically called Achilles-Courage. It's the courage of movie action heros; it's the flash and swagger of those wading into harms way. While not without it uses (for believe me, there are many), I've never been an gigantic fan of the Achilles kind of courage. It can fade. It may not last. It can be motivated my many many outside sources, from personal benefit to bravado, to just enjoying being in dangerous situations. I tend to find this courage rendered cheap, when the sun sets.
The most
I've know Kim Foreman for as long as I've known Michael, and Michael is my oldest and dearest friend. To say that he is family is the understatement of the century, and his family is, by as much default as love, my family. Blood relation or not, Michael is my brother, and Kim was as dear to me as my own mother. Her death, as expected as it was, as peaceful as it was, in my mind is still nothing less than a stomach wrenching loss.
I'm not much of a believer in the Organized Church. I have little use for most strictly delineated sects that claim to have the direct line to heaven. But I am a firm and absolute believer in God; I believe one will be judged on the content and character of one’s Soul. And in that regard, Kim Foreman was second to absolutely no one.
Her soul, from the first time I met her in high school to the very last time the past December, blinded me. It was a radiant beacon of God’s light in this world. She was the purest demonstration that being a Christian doesn't mean just going to church, it doesn't mean tithing and calling it a day, it doesn't mean singing a joyful song. She lived her life in the truest example of Christ, day in and day out. She so gracefully embraced the most difficult, the most tragic, the most trying test of faith that one could ever face with the grace of God Himself: to keep your faith with the knowledge of your own impending death.
In the course of my life, I've seen many different kinds of courage. Paraphrasing Jim Baen, the most obvious form of courage I have seen is what is typically called Achilles-Courage. It's the courage of movie action heroes; it's the flash and swagger of those wading into harm’s way. While not without its uses (for believe me, there are many), I've never been a gigantic fan of Achilles courage. It can fade. It may not last. It can be motivated my many many outside sources, from personal benefit to bravado, to just enjoying being in dangerous situations. I tend to find this courage rendered cheap, when the sun sets.
And then there is another form of courage, one that is far, far more seldom, and far, far more precious. This is the courage that Kim exhibited, nay, exemplified from the very first day that I met her. It’s what I call Cellar Courage, and it is little more than the quiet refusal to yield. It’s the small glowing ball of faith deep in your heart; it’s the simple and basic knowledge that no matter what happens, one will endure, and endure, and endure. This is the courage that truly tests a person’s Soul, for it is not impulsive. In Kim Foreman I saw the embodiment of the grace and peace and love of God required to look your adversary in the face and state with a calm heart and still eyes, “I will not back away. I will not surrender. I will not back down. I will not step aside. I will continue and endure until my end comes, and I will face it. I will not look away.”
Would that I could have such Faith.
Would that I could have such unending Peace.
Would that I could have such Grace.
On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank you and your staff for your excellent and caring service.
Thank you for all you did to make our mother's funeral special, dignified, and easy for us.
I just can't express to you enough how much we appreciated the kindness and professionalism my family experienced with you and your staff.
Thank you for treating my beloved mother with honor and respect all throughout the process.
Our family will be forever grateful to the owner and staff at Beresford Funeral Services for the excellent services they provided to our family upon the death of our loved one. Everything went smoothly. The planning was easy with everything needed for the funeral provided on sight at reasonable prices with no pressure to spend more than planned. They were flexible with our personal plans, very kind, and considerate from beginning to end. We would definitely recommend Beresford Funeral Services to anyone in need of funeral services.
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