Charles Harry Foster, a native of St. Louis, a business executive in several areas and a longtime art collector, died peacefully on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, seven days before his 94th birthday. A family member said, he died “peacefully,” and “as always, his beloved wife Eleanor was at his side. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”

Mr. Foster was born in St. Louis in 1914. His family moved to Chicago during his childhood. During World War II, he moved back to St. Louis. In 1965, he married Eleanor Morein, “and they remained sweethearts for 43 years,” a family member said. During the Depression, Mr. Foster worked to support his parents and his sister and remained the head and guiding force of his family. He attended Northwester University in the field of engineering.

Mr. Foster held diverse jobs as a young man. As a copywriter for an advertising agency, he began to visit the art museum, where he learned how art can be used in advertising and at the same time he developed a great love of art and a self-taught understanding of art history. In his lifetime, he owned many businesses, the most successful of them being his residential and commercial construction company and his coal brokerage firm. As a coal broker, he helped the Crow Indian Tribe in Montana market their coal.

Mr. Foster’s avocation was art collecting. His collection became one of the premier collections in St. Louis. Paintings from his collection have hung in many great museums, including the Saint Louis Art Museum, the White House, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, and in Israel.

As a young man, Mr. Foster played golf and was an excellent ice skater. He then learned to play squash and tennis. Over the years, he won many Class A golfing and tennis trophies. As a member of Westwood Country Club, he played tennis daily and remained active in sports until he was in his late eighties.

Described as always active in Judaism, Mr. Foster attended Temple Israel, United Hebrew and until his death, Temple Emanuel. He smuggled suitcases full of Bibles into the former Soviet Union.

Mr. Foster also raised funds for the Jewish Federation and many other Jewish charities and causes. “He gave generously to many, many charities, but always anonymously,” a family spokesman said.

Harry and Eleanor Foster were frequent guests at the White House. They were the guests of President Jimmy Carter at his inauguration and attended state dinners. One of their favorite memories was the state dinner honoring the late former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Mr. Foster flew on Air Force One as a guest of President Carter, and he and his wife were frequent White House guests of former President Bill Clinton.

A family member added, “Harry was an intrepid traveler, at times, as a CIA civilian agent. He was an adventurer, and exciting man, who lived his life with a robust joy.”

“Harry and Eleanor traveled the world. In 1965, they drove alone from Nairobi on a private safari through Kenya and Tanzania. They traveled down the Amazon River. Trekked the Himalayas. They visited Vietnam during the war, which attracted so much attention that The New York Times published an article about their travels entitled, ‘The Intrepid Fosters.’ Harry was always devoted to his family first. He always had time for his wife, the great love of his life, who was at his side when he passed away peacefully.”

Among the famous people the Fosters met on their travels were Mother Teresa in India and Martin Buber, who signed a book Mr. Foster had written, his wife, Eleanor, told the St. Louis Jewish Light.

Mr. Foster is survived by his wife, Eleanor Morein Foster, his son, Charles Harry Foster, Jr., his stepchildren Randy Goldenhersh and Susan Goldenhersh Nugent, and his grandchildren Joseph Foster, Gregory Goldenhersh, Ariel Diamond, Noah Diamond and Katherine Winder.