Mont Andrew Forbes Memorial Service

CARPENTER, CLARK, FORBES, GRANDEL, GRAY, PAROULEK

Posted By: Volunteer Paul French
Date: 5/13/2007 at 16:47:53

Mont Andrew Forbes
March 28, 1930 – March 19, 1968

Mont Andrew Forbes was born on March 28, 1903 at Monte Vista, Colorado, son of Robert W. Forbes and Martha E. Sherod Forbes. When just a young man, he moved to Iowa with his family and attended the schools there. He prepared himself for the vocation of teacher, came to California in 1926, and discovered that there were opportunities for teaching here. He returned to Parson’s College where he completed his academic requirements and came back to California in 1929. He assumed a position as a teacher in the Azusa Schools in 1929 and from that time on he has been related to the field of education. He continued in his academic studies and received his Master’s degree from the University of Southern California. As a teacher he taught in not only the Azusa schools but also at Downey High School, Lucinger High School, and Edison Junior High. Most recently he was with the Los Angeles City School System.

In 1950 he was united in marriage to Dorothy Gray at Pasadena. They made their home in several places in the area, ultimately living in Whittier. Mont entered into rest on March 19, 1968. He is survived by: his wife, Dorothy Gray Forbes of Whittier; two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Grandel of Covina and Mrs. Bernardine Clark of Long Beach, as well as other friends and relatives – those of you who are here present and knew him through his broader circle of relationships. Your presence here today bespeaks his wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

At this his memorial service we have the privilege of having one of his close friends and co-workers address himself to words of a eulogy (Dr. Carpenter), as well as the presence of the brethren of the Azusa Masonic Lodge #305, of which Mont was an active member….

….It was at lodge where I had the most frequent contact with him. I was always impressed by his friendly and gregarious attitude, his interest in the positive values of life, and his concern for the good and purposeful relationships of life. He had the capacity and the outlook wherein he delved into the very depths of human existence and was occupied with the confrontations of man with life and with the very ground of our being.

He expressed his faith in Christ through his relationship as a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Whittier. He knew the meaning of the Christian faith and he lived in the Christian concept of life, not only in terms of our human relationships, but also in terms of its implications for the life of the soul. Jesus at one time said, “To know me is life eternal.” Mont’s life reflected this knowledge of the Christian faith and the full implication of these words.

From this background of positive values, he related himself to his family as husband, brother and member of the greater circle of the family. I am not going to labor the implications of these relationships except to state that these are your sacred memories upon which you build an edifice of recollected thoughts. It would be my thought that your memories of his life will reflect and include the many happy moments of his service, love, concern and devotion. May these thoughts constitute and serve as a source of your comfort and strength not only in this moment of sorrow but in the days that lie ahead.

…It has been said that “as the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined.” I am sure that Mont had a most important role in the lives of many youth, pointing them to higher and nobler aspirations in life as he “bent the twig” in their learning process and inclined their life to more purposeful pursuits by his interest, inspiration and his love. The welfare of our nation is predicated upon the dedication of our teachers to the high moral values and principles of life as they confront the youth in our public schools. Mont played a most important role in life in this area of building lives for a greater tomorrow.

…Mont believed in the way of Christ….and the way of Christ is the way of rising above the deluge of our human frustrations to the high purpose of God’s eternal destiny—a destiny that knows no limitations of time and space, but unfolds itself in the glorious image of eternity.
………

Thus, may our consolation be twofold……..may the memories of the life of Mont, the work of his hands, the relationships which he had with others…..be blessed and serve as a source of comfort to our sorrow……..and may we find the sunshine of God’s love behind the clouds of sorrow…. may we know that God always stands within the shadows, keeping watch above his own.

B. J. Paroulek, Minister, First Presbyterian Church of Azusa, California.

Source: transcription contained in “Family History” of the Barker, Sherod, and Forbes families and descendants compiled by Bernadine Forbes Clark, December 1980.