Forster, Irving A. 1928 - 2018
FORSTER, PADDOCK, CALKINS, SHREFFLER, KURTZ, KUBLEY, BROWN, MEYSENBURG, OSLER, WELSH, JEONG, WARNER
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/19/2024 at 21:00:43
Irving A. Forster, age 90, of Decorah, Iowa died suddenly on Wednesday, March 21, 2018.
Irving was born January 5, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, the third of four children born to Irving A. Forster Sr., a pharmacist, and Mary Ella Paddock, a rural school teacher. They resided in the southwest area of Chicago, where the children attended nearby Catholic schools. The family frequently visited the farming and lake area of Antioch, Illinois near the Wisconsin border where the Paddock family farm was located, and where Irving experienced rural living and small dairy farming. They experienced no great hardship during the Great Depression but its consequences were clearly visible when those less fortunate would stop at the door seeking food, frequently in exchange for offers to work.
Immediately following graduation from high school, Irving was drafted into the army in 1946, among the last to be drafted following the end of WWII. Having achieved the rank of private, he was discharged in 1947 after visiting Japan and the Philippines where the ravages of war were evident. In an old car he had repaired and altered for sleeping, he and his brother George toured western states including several national parks. Following two years of employment in light industry in Chicago using his mechanical skills, he decided to try college. With the help of the GI bill, he began at DePaul University and completed an undergraduate degree at Loras College in Dubuque Iowa. It was there that he met and married Jane Calkins, a recent graduate of nearby Clark College. Earlier, Irv interrupted his college experience to spend a year as a novice member of Franciscan Brothers, a move reflecting his serious, if not literal, understanding of the importance of religious faith. Family life would all too soon test that understanding.
As a natural extension of his humanitarian leanings, Irv completed a masters degree in social work in 1956. What followed was employment in a variety of fields including corrections, mental health, marriage and family counseling, special education and social work training. Family life quickly became complicated and busy. Out of six pregnancies, four daughters were born, introducing immediate concerns about birth control and inevitable conflict with church authorities on that subject. That conflict was resolved by Jane but not by Irv until it was no longer relevant. It was that conflict which opened the door to serious examination of all religious claims and, much later, rejection of religious dogma and resignation from the Catholic Church.
Inspired by the election of John F. Kennedy in 1961, the family moved to the Baltimore- Washington area where Irv was employed by the Department of Child Psychiatry at the University of Maryland and later, Catholic University School of Social Work. With Irv's support and encouragement, and a fellowship from Catholic University, Jane would soon complete a PhD in higher education. The murders of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the Vietnam War, affected their enthusiasm for the area. That, coupled with Irv's desire to move back to the middle west, was the reason for the family move in 1972 to Decorah, Iowa. Once there, he began a search for some affordable land for a farm of his own. For the next three years, he was employed at Luther College. Following that, he was employed for 16 years by Keystone Area Education Agency, in the special education service unit, and retired from there in 1991.
In 1976, Irv and Jane purchased 200 scenic acres near Decorah, Iowa. The farmstead was originally begun by Norwegian immigrants in 1854. Irv and Jane built a home, and were able to preserve some of the original buildings. They enjoyed rural life for 30 years before moving into town in 2008. Before selling the farm, they granted to the state of Iowa a conservation easement so that no further building could take place on most of the land.
Irv considered an extended retirement part of his good fortune so that he could continue his self-directed education to fill in gaps resulting from his efforts to integrate religious claims into his world view. This was a serious effort that continued for the remainder of his life and broadened to other areas of concern including the futures of the Earth, the United States and humankind generally. Impressed by the power of the scientific method and rational inquiry, he particularly enjoyed integrating new insights into his evolving personal philosophy. His inquiries led to some pessimism regarding the capacity of his country to maintain a democracy and fellow humans to continue within the realities of nature. He was particularly pleased that Jane and his daughters were well ahead of him as he pursued these interests and concerns.
Irving is survived by his daughters, Anne Forster Shreffler, Omaha, NE; Molly Forster (Dennis Kurtz), North Liberty, IA; Sarah Kubley, Boulder, CO; Lori Forster (Craig Brown), Tallahassee, FL.; his grandchildren, David Irving Shreffler (Anne Meysenburg), Omaha, NE; Kellie Anne Shreffler Osler (Michael), Omaha, NE; Zachary Welsh (Hye Jeong), Daejeon, South Korea; his great-grandchildren, Desmond Irving and Eleanor Marie Shreffler, Calvin Reid Osler, and Charles William and Olivia Sophia Welsh; his sister, Marguerite Warner, Antioch, IL, and many wonderful nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and many special friends. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years Jane C. Forster, and his brothers Charles Forster and George Forster.
Irv would say he had been the recipient of countless acts of personal kindness and generosity from many of his fellow humans. His family would like to thank each and every one who touched his life in that way. They would also like to express their sincere gratitude to everyone at Winneshiek Medical Center and Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice who provided excellent care and support, according to his directives.
Consistent with Irving's wishes, there will be no funeral service. He did, however, propose that a party be held to recognize and celebrate life's challenges and adventures. To honor that, there will be a casual gathering on April 7, 2018, in his home at 722 Ridge Road, Decorah, Iowa, beginning at 1:00 pm.
Memorials may be made to the Freedom from Religion Foundation (ffrf.org) or Planned Parenthood (www.plannedparenthood.org).
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
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