In Memoriam

John Oster

John Arthur Oster, a man with a vision who established the Carbon Forestry Trust,

passed away on April 10, 2025.

It took but one meeting with John to understand the depth of character of this good

man. Simply put, John was a Mensch…a man of very high integrity and honor.

As was rightly said in his obituary, John was an idea factory and he didn’t stop

with just an idea. He had a tremendous ability to transform those ideas into

action…he knew how to get things done.

His 50+ year career began with results-oriented environmental advocacy work in

the Capital Region of New York State. From there, John had very successful roles

in community and real estate development that culminated with his founding of

Edgemere Development in Rochester.

Those who knew John well also knew that everything he did was done with an

abiding family-first focus. Busy as he always was, he always made time for his

loving wife Loron and their children and grandchildren. On a quiet evening in

John and Loron’s home, it was a common thing to see John reading to his

grandchildren. His friends were an extension of his family, and they could be

regularly seen with him on boat trips on his much-loved trawler or at restaurants in

pursuit of the perfect oyster.

At the time of his passing, John had returned to his environmental advocacy when

he established the Carbon Forestry Trust in 2021. Since 2021, together with a

Board of Directors he helped recruit, the Trust has planted an average of 18,000

trees per year, and is making steady progress towards its overarching goal of

planting one million trees in order to combat the growing threat of climate change

by increasing atmospheric carbon sequestration.

John’s compassion, care and competence were an effective trifecta that made him

stand apart. He may be gone from sight, but never from the heart.