Esther Hess Foster Thomas, 86, of 825 David St. in Prospect, died Thursday at her home.

Born in Six Mile Run, Bedford County, Dec. 12, 1918, she was the daughter of Charles Hess and Arah Edwards Hess Evans.

She had been self-employed in the restaurant and catering business in the Pittsburgh area. She also did home health care in the Butler area.

Mrs. Thomas was a member of the North Main Street Church of God and regularly attended the West Liberty United Methodist Church with her daughter.

She held all positions in the America Legion Auxiliary Unit 866 and was past chapeau of Legion 8/40 where her project was to raise money for cystic fibrosis. She enjoyed raising houseplants, working in her flower gardens and keeping a fish pond. She also enjoyed cooking and feeding many from her dining room.

Surviving are three sons, Lenus Foster of Ruskin, Fla., Kendall Foster of Chalfont and Stanley Foster of Dripping Springs, Texas; two stepsons, Merle Thomas of Harrisburg and Roy Thomas of Waynesboro; a daughter, Rebecca Foster Gitzen of Prospect; a stepdaughter, Elaine Wills of Texas; 13 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren. Also surviving are a sister, Charlotte DeArmitt of Huntingdon; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Woodrow W. Foster, who died Dec. 23, 1935; and her second husband, Eugene Thomas, who died April 30, 1988. Four brothers and two sisters also preceded her in death.

<B>THOMAS</B> - Friends of Esther Hess Foster Thomas, who died Thursday, March 10, 2005, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at THOMPSON-MILLER FUNERAL HOME, 124 E North St. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at West Liberty United Methodist Church with the Rev James Lewis, church pastor and the Rev Kenneth Hall, pastor of North Main Church of God, officiating. Burial will be at Lakewood Memorial Gardens, Cheswick.Memorial donations may be made to West Liberty United Methodist Church, 135 Church Road, Slippery Rock, PA 16057.Information also is available at www.thompson-miller.com.