Alice Ellinor Foubister (nee Murton), a benevolent friend and teacher who devoted herself to, and held leadership roles in, both the Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Ladies Aid Society at Knox Presbyterian Church in Cranbrook, B.C., passed away on September 4, 2026. She was 87.

Called “Allie” by her family, she was born to Alice and Jack Murton in Burnaby, B.C., on January 25, 1939. Alice was an oral historian who was proud of her family’s self-reliance and resilience. Though her early years were marked by the economic hardships of the Depression and World War II, she felt richly blessed. Alice fondly told stories about her close-knit family, including her older siblings Joan, Brian and Judy and her younger sister, whom she called “little Brenda.”

Growing up, Allie was especially close to her sister Judy, 13 months her senior. They were known to friends as “the Murton twins” – even before Allie skipped a grade in school. Judy was more than a sister and friend to Allie; Judy was her protector. Likewise, Allie looked out for Judy. When sugar was rationed and Judy’s was gone, Allie would share her brown sugar to help Judy choke down the morning porridge she so detested. It is small kindnesses like this, unspoken and often unrecognized acts, that are quintessential Alice. She truly lived her life in the service of others.

As a teenager, Allie liked to run and was a member of a girls’ field hockey team. She also played the violin and enjoyed painting. After graduating from Burnaby South High, she worked for two years as a stenographer at what was then known as Oakalla Prison Farm. Alice then attended teacher’s college at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Education in Vancouver. It was there, through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, that she met David Ronald “Ron” Foubister, whom she married in 1962. Alice was a primary school teacher for several years before they began their family. She then intermittently took educational and secretarial roles while raising their three children and later helping to raise three grandchildren. Alice also taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School, led girls’ clubs, helped to organize both church family camps and summer youth camps, and wrote a history of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbytery of Kootenay. She was a logophile, a person who loves words and language, and delighted in looking up words in her massive Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary and serving as her family’s resident editor.

Alongside her own endeavors, Alice, whom Ron called “Al,” was an equal partner in his ministry – from Michillinda Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, California, to rural towns in Saskatchewan and Quebec. As one of the Spiritual Care Committee chaplains at East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook said recently, “Alice was the neck that turned Ron’s head.” Alice was committed to the ministry of Knox Presbyterian Church, where she and Ron served together for 23 years, and was beloved by its congregation. Her true gift was as a patient and trusted listener, especially to those whom society often overlooks.

Alice is survived by her two daughters and their families: Ellen Rae and Peikang, grandchildren Anya, Ramon, Raissa and Rayhart, and great grandchildren Ethan, Allison, Elowyn and Kaspian; and Vida and Tim, grandchildren Anjali, Maia and Isla; her sister Brenda and brother-in-law Jack; and nieces and nephews including John and Phil, Bruce, Heather, Barry and Heidi, Duncan, Leanne, Allison and Julian, and their spouses, children and grandchildren. Alice is predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Ron, whom she loved dearly, parents Alice and Jack, siblings Joan, Brian and Judy and their spouses, brother-in-law Ray, cherished son David, and nephew Brian Jr. and niece Holly.

Alice will be interred with Ron on Friday, September 11, at Seaview Cemetery, 1706 Lower Road, in Roberts Creek, B.C. A time of remembrance will be held prior to the burials at Devlin Funeral Home, 579 Seaview Road, Gibsons, B.C., beginning at 11:30 am. The family invites all those in attendance to join them after the services for a meal at Joe’s on the Beach, 4748 Sunshine Coast Highway, Sechelt, B.C. A Cranbrook memorial service is being planned, and the details will be announced shortly.