Ernest Foss III

Foss—Ernest Foss III, 70, on January 14, 2016, at Medford Leas Retirement Community in Medford, N.J. Terry, as he was known, was born on September 27, 1945, in Ithaca, N.Y., and grew up in Wyncote, Pa. He spent most childhood summers at Baily Camp in Small Point, Maine, where his parents had gone as workcampers from Westtown School in the 1930s. He grew up in Cheltenham (Pa.) Meeting and attended Cheltenham schools before boarding at Westtown School for high school. At Dartmouth College he developed his photography skills, learned computing, and enjoyed whitewater canoeing and kayaking.

During the Vietnam War he volunteered for two years of alternate service with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), working in Detroit, Mich., and San Francisco, Calif. Then he started work with AFSC in Philadelphia, Pa., in a job that led to his becoming the AFSC staff photographer, traveling to AFSC projects in Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and many locations in the United States. He also was the first webmaster for the AFSC website. Terry and his wife, Roberta Hanser Foss, spent part of each summer at Baily Camp in Small Point, Maine. In 1990, he did an oral history project featuring former workcampers and villagers on the impact of the workcamps, which ran from 1934 to 1950.

He retired in 2009 and pursued personal photography projects, especially with panoramic and gigapixel resolution images. Examples of his work can be seen at terryfossphoto.com. He also volunteered at Morris Arboretum, near Philadelphia, helping to digitize their photo archives. Terry enjoyed exploring the Philadelphia area bicycle trails and locations throughout Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey on his motorcycle.

In June 2014 he moved from the Mt. Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia to Medford Leas and transferred his membership from Chestnut Hill Meeting in Philadelphia to Medford Meeting. He enjoyed canoeing the branch of the Rancocas Creek that was steps from his apartment and hiking the trails of the Medford Leas campus. He was a member of the Trails Committee and Short Trips Committee and took on several photo assignments, including the beginning of what was to be a several year photo documentation of the replanting and development of a meadow on the Lumberton campus of Medford Leas. He also organized the photographic part of the semiannual residents’ art show.

Terry was preceded in death by his father, Ernest Foss Jr.; his mother, Jane Hosmer Foss Llewellyn; his brother, Philip Llewellyn; and his stepfather, Robert Hall Llewellyn. He is survived by his wife, Roberta Hanser Foss; two nieces, Jesse Llewellyn (Jacob Pratt) and Chelsea Llewellyn Swanda (David); a nephew, Matthew Llewellyn; and two brothers, Mark Llewellyn and Robert Llewellyn (Martha). Throughout his life, he was seldom without a dog or two at his side. He is survived by his current dog, Rusty, who wonders where her buddy has gone.

A memorial meeting to celebrate Terry’s life is planned for April 23 at 2:00 p.m. at Medford Leas. Memorial gifts may be made to the Medford Leas Residents Assistance Fund, 1 Medford Way, Medford, NJ 08055, or to Medford Friends Meeting, 14 Union Street, Medford, NJ 08055.