‘Honestly, I can’t say enough to describe what an amazing person she was. I am gutted and absolutely devastated,’ friend says of Jen Foster
Jen Foster, a mother who leaves behind two sons after she was killed by her partner in a murder-suicide at a north-end Barrie home last weekend, is being remembered by her friends as a “beautiful human,” genuine and sweet.
On Thursday, city police confirmed the deaths of the Barrie couple, who Village Medial has identified as Foster and Brian Ryback, was a murder-suicide as the result of intimate partner violence.
Barrie police responded to a home on Peregrine Road, near St. Vincent Street and Osprey Ridge Road, for a wellness check around 9 a. m. on Saturday, June 20. Inside, police found the bodies of the 46-year-old man and the 45-year-old woman.
“The woman’s death has been deemed a homicide, while the man is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” police stated in a release Thursday morning, adding the firearm involved in the incident was recovered from the scene.
Barrie police say they would not be releasing any further details out of respect for the family.
Neighbours declined to speak last Saturday but did say the couple was very private, while others later said there were “signs of trouble.”
The Go Fund Me campaign names their two sons as 20-year-old Evan and 22-year-old Quintin, who “are now facing an unimaginable loss and are left to navigate life without their parents,” the campaign says.
“In an instant, their entire world has changed. This fundraiser has been created to help support them during this devastating time and to provide immediate stability as they begin to process this tragedy.”
One of Foster’s friends, Tash, who did not want her full name , met Foster in 2002 when she moved to Barrie.
“She was my first friend here and we were really close for quite a few years. My older kids and her boys grew up together,” she told Barrie Today.
Tash described Foster as “a beautiful human.”
“No one better, actually. She loved her people hard. She was very family-oriented and loved her kids. She just wanted to protect them and do right for them,” Tash said.
“I’m never going to forget her laugh – she had a great laugh,” Tash added. “We enjoyed getting our nails done together in the Bayfield Mall and catching up on the latest celebrity gossip in the magazines. It’s really hard to believe she’s gone,” she said.
Stephanie Currie, another good friend of Foster’s, says she was an “incredible person.”
“She was the most genuine, sweetest person I have ever met,” she said. “I met her at my first job when we were teenagers. I actually loved going to work because I got to be with her. We instantly bonded.”
Currie remembers how excited Foster was when she was pregnant.
“She loved her boys more than anything. Even on my weekly visits to the dollar store to see her, she would always talk about them and just smile,” she said.
“Honestly, I can’t say enough to describe what an amazing person she was. I am gutted and absolutely devastated, and I will miss her forever. I have not seen the boys since they were little toddlers but she talked about them every time I saw her. My heart aches for them,” Currie added.
According to the fundraising campaign money raised will go directly toward funeral and memorial expenses immediate living arrangements housing stability basic daily needs such as food clothing essentials professional support grief counselling – helping them adjust as guardianship long-term plans are arranged.
“These are not future luxuries; they are urgent needs required just to help them get through the coming weeks months,” the campaign stated.
“Evan and Quintin have lost their parents with that; they’ve lost their foundation life/home routine security guidance,” it added. “No one at their age should be forced carry this kind grief responsibility alone right now what they need most is stability support reassurance that they are not alone in this Every donation message support no matter size makes meaningful difference.”
As of Sunday morning; The campaign had raised just over $32,000 More information about fundraising can be found on Go Fund Me page.
Barrie police investigate at a home on Peregrine Road near St Vincent Street Osprey Ridge Road on June 20 2026 after man woman were found dead inside residence following wellness check | Nikki Cole/Barrie Today files
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