Longtime sports reporter Oree Foster dies, covered Navajo Nation high school teams
Oree Foster, who was a fixture at the 3A North basketball tournaments and at state tournaments for decades, covering high school teams on the Navajo Nation, died Wednesday, his son, Patrick, said.
He was 69.
A graduate of Window Rock High School in Fort Defiance, Foster was a sports reporter for the Gallup Independent and the Navajo Times. After retiring five years ago, he contributed to the Arizona Interscholastic Association's web site, AIA365, with sports stories from the reservation.
"The state of Arizona lost a champion with the tragic death of Oree Foster," Kayenta Monument Valley football coach Bryan Begay said. "Foster touched so many lives, not just on the Navajo reservation, but throughout the Four Corners and the rest of Arizona through his philanthropy.
"He was truly a great man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace, Oree."
Chinle boys basketball coach Raul Mendoza called Foster an "icon" in the north, who ran the Arizona-New Mexico All-Star Game for more than 40 years to give our "Native athletes exposure for them to get an opportunity to compete at the next level."
Foster had a long stack of college contacts that helped Native Americans get college opportunities to further their education and helped them get off the reservation.
"Oree was a pioneer in his field and had a passion for his job," Mendoza said. "He became a light for the Native athletes in the (3A) North and the nation. Otherwise, the Native athletes would not receive any publicity."
Patrick Foster, 46, said that his father had diabetes. Several years ago, after he had his foot amputated as a result of the condition, Oree was fitted with a prosthetic.
He continued to get around, still making it to the Valley to cover state high school cross country meets and reservation schools or those that border the Navajo Nation, such as Holbrook and Winslow, at the state basketball championships held in Phoenix.
Patrick said last year, his father became seriously ill from COVID and had to be hospitalized for a month in Albuquerque. He was transferred to a long-term facility in Winslow, where he died, Patrick said.
Patrick said his father suffered from dementia along with kidney and heart failure. In the beginning of this high school basketball season, Window Rock honored Oree at the first game, Patrick said.
"We brought him back and he was there," Patrick said. "He was getting around, and, all of a sudden he caught COVID. It was a shock to everybody. Everybody knew him. He was popular."
Window Rock football coach Wilbur Begay called Oree a true "Fighting Scout."
"A great community member of Fort Defiance and Window Rock area," Wilbur Begay said. "I would see him at the post office or grocery store and we would talk sports and maybe crack a joke. A great man. I had much respect for him and his family. Oree donated six football awards every year and you could tell he was very proud to do so. WRHS Football team will remember Oree and his contributions to our program."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sports reporter Oree Foster, who covered the Navajo Nation, dies at 69
