Eileen Larsen, former Foster City mayor, dies

Eileen Larsen, the first woman elected to the Foster City Council in 1974, died Dec. 18 in Reno with her family close by.

She was 76.

Larsen was a fixture in Foster City politics for decades, being re-elected to the council in 1996. She served as mayor in 1998.

She was known for her dogged love of Foster City and lobbied hard to build a high school on land adjacent to City Hall donated by T. Jack Foster. She opposed busing Foster City children to San Mateo schools and rallied successfully against a fire department merger with the city of San Mateo in 1996.

Sue Lempert, whose political career also started in the early ’70s, often sparred with Larsen over the years on local issues.

"It is hard to believe she is no longer with us. She seemed indestructible,” Lempert said. "I loved her dearly even though we disagreed on almost everything.”

Lempert first met Larsen in 1970 when Lempert was running for a seat on the San Mateo School Board, now the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District Board of Trustees.

Larsen told Lempert she would rather have her children go to school in tents rather than have them bused to San Mateo.

"She was feisty,” Lempert said. "Everything she did, in her own mind, was for the best of Foster City.”

Councilman Rick Wykoff said Larsen was a critical fixture in the early days of Foster City government and politics.

"She was devoted to Foster City,” Wykoff said. "She really cared about the community. She’s an important figure in the early history of the city.”

Wykoff credits Larsen, in part, for inspiring a long list of councilmembers who took the same care for Foster City that she did.

Larsen left the council in 1999 and moved to Reno to be near her daughter Christiane Brown’s family in 2001.

Larsen and her husband Don spent their last years together traveling the world and attending numerous school plays and dance recitals of their granddaughters Tara and Tess. Larsen and her husband enjoyed exploring the banks of the Truckee River and the ranches and green spaces of northern Nevada with their dog Watson.

Her husband Don passed away in 2007.

She earned a place on the Foster City Community Wall of Fame in 2002 for her lasting contributions to the city. She was also the editor of the Foster City Islander for a spell.

Larsen’s career in Foster City politics spanned 32 years, starting with its drive to gain independence from San Mateo, which succeeded in 1971 when the city was incorporated. Her name appears on buildings across the city including the library, community center and senior center and on plaques at parks and bridges.

Her daughter remembers her mother for her quick mind, easy laughter and deep commitment to fighting for what was right.

"My mother expected the children to be up on current events and speak intelligently about them,” Brown said. "One summer, she kept us home to watch the Watergate hearings.”

When there was an issue Larsen felt strongly about, she would march with her children by her side, Brown said.

Two of Larsen’s children grew up to be journalists, one a political radio talk show host and the other a writer for Bloomberg in London. Larsen’s other child relocated to Fiji where he runs a resort.

Born in Milwaukee, Wis., Larsen graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism where she met and married her husband, a fellow student. The couple shared a marriage of 52 years.

A memorial service for Eileen will be held in Foster City the weekend of Jan. 8. For details contact christianebrown@sbcglobal.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.