John H. Foster’s wife, Helen Thomas, also graduated from Colby College, class of 1914. They got married in Maine in 1918 and then went together to Changsha, China, to do missionary work. There, Helen taught English at a school, and because of the long distance, she traveled daily by jinrikisha. She did a lot of volunteer work with local women missionaries, established a cross-stitch industry, and helped surrounding women. Through this volunteer work, the women raised a considerable amount of funds. In 1927, she returned to the United States together with John H. Foster.
In Colby Oracle of 1914, “Though America is her father-land, China seems to be her foster-country.” You can see this inherited relationship between them and China throughout the Foster family.