FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2004, file photo, former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster and his wife, Alice, acknowledge the crowd at the inauguration of his successor, Gov. Kathleen Blanco, in Baton Rouge, La. Foster, a folksy millionaire businessman who pushed major changes in education policy and lawsuit rules through an increasingly conservative state Legislature in the 1990s, died Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. He was 90. Marsanne Goolsby, who was Foster’s press secretary when he was governor, said that Foster died at his home in Franklin. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Former Gov. Mike Foster disregarded much of the pomp and circumstance of the office, and he’ll be buried in the same unassuming manner, with little of the fanfare he could have received and no commemorative events at the Louisiana Capitol.
The two-term Republican governor, who died Sunday at the age of 90, will be memorialized at his Oaklawn Manor home with private services Wednesday morning, his family announced. A public military graveside service will be held at 12:30 p.m. the same day at Franklin Cemetery for anyone who wants to attend and pay respects in person.
Foster, a millionaire businessman, served as Louisiana governor from 1996 until 2004.
He championed many of the state’s major education policy changes of the last few decades, including the creation of the TOPS college tuition program, the state’s accountability system and Louisiana’s community college system.
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