James Alvin Forgaard

James Alvin Forgaard
1934-2011
Resident of Anacortes, WA
James, retired San Lorenzo Valley teacher/coach and performer in Santa Cruz community theater, passed away peacefully at the Life Care Center of Mount Vernon, WA on October 30, 2011, at the age of 77, with his loving wife Marilyn at his side.
Jim was born May 23, 1934 in Champaign, IL, the third son of Alvin Walter Forgaard - an aerial photographer attached to the U.S. Air Force - and Bernice (Mack) Forgaard, who later worked for Boeing and Sears in Seattle. Preceding Jim in death were his father and mother and his brother Dean M. Forgaard, M.D.
Jim spent his early years in Illinois and Colorado. His mother and father divorced in 1943. His mother, Jim, and his two older brothers moved to Renton, WA where he attended Renton schools until moving to Burien, WA. In 1952 Jim graduated from Highline High School - where he was an All-Conference linebacker -which led to a football scholarship at Whitworth College (now University) in Spokane, WA.
Jim met his first wife Joy Banghart while attending Whitworth College. They were married in Burien, WA, on June 26, 1955. Jim and Joy settled in Seattle, WA where Jim worked for the American Can Company and Boeing. Sons Randy, Eric, and Scott were born between 1959 and 1963.
Learning of a need for teachers in California, Jim and Joy packed up the family in 1964 and drove south, settled in Fresno, and worked sometimes two or three jobs while attending Fresno State College (now University) full-time and earning their teaching credentials. Jim kept a succession of old Ramblers going, making possible family sojourns to the great Sequoias and the camping trips everyone enjoyed so much. Jim graduated with honors with a B.A. in Recreation Education. In 1968, the family moved to Santa Cruz and Jim became the physical education teacher, coach, and athletic director at San Lorenzo Valley Jr. High (now Middle School) in Felton, CA, a job he dearly loved. He cared deeply for his students and inspired them to be their best. During his tenure, he was honored with a Teacher of the Year award.
Jim organized the school's first golf team, arranged for playing time at a nearby course, and worked to get clubs and balls donated to the boys who needed them. Sportsmanship was as important to him as talent; he taught his young players rules and etiquette for a week before they ever set foot on the course. On match days, his workday didn't end until long after dusk, when he had safely delivered home the last of several boys who lived in remote pockets of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Jim and Joy divorced in 1974 and he devoted himself to raising his four sons (including Shawn, born in 1970). He put good meals on the table, and embraced the academic, dramatic and athletic achievements of the family with great pride.
Jim's stories filtered down to his children as unintended heirlooms - such as the day he walked down the fairway with Arnold Palmer; the great elk hunt; and the night his mother spirited young Jim and his brothers onto the train and they pushed west over the Rockies to a new beginning in the Pacific Northwest.
Jim discovered a penchant for acting and singing in his forties and regularly landed roles in Santa Cruz community productions, earning good reviews. He shared the stage with famed actor/director John Carradine in a production of The Man Who Came to Dinner at Cabrillo Stage in Aptos, CA, and he played a policeman in the movie Steel Heel, which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.
Jim delighted in simple pleasures like the aroma of freshly ground coffee, the flavor burst of a ripe tomato, and the patter of rain on a roof. Wherever he went, he brightened the faces of store clerks, gas station attendants and food servers; he was a friend to everyone. And always there were quests - for flea market treasures, the best oysters on the half shell, or a solidly struck golf ball.
Jim retired from teaching in 1990. He later sold his house and for many years lived in a trailer on a peaceful bluff on a friend's property in rural Prunedale, CA, south of Santa Cruz. He rose each morning, brewed a fresh pot of Colombian coffee, and stepped out to watch the early sun illuminate the green canyon, the slopes of which were dotted with the lazy shuffle of distant livestock.
Jim always treasured his home life, but he also felt the lure of the road. He fulfilled a long-held dream with a 2002 journey along Route 66 with three of his children. He was thrilled with the luster of the faded strand of roadside oddities stretching through the desert, the heartland, and all the way back to Chicago.
Jim reconnected with his high school sweetheart Marilyn Holden and they married in 2006. They moved from San Jose, CA to Anacortes, WA in 2007.
Jim spent his final year among the tulips and fresh rains of Skagit Valley, WA at the Life Care Center of Mt. Vernon, attended to by his wife and a team of caring professionals.
Jim is survived by his wife Marilyn; brother Wendell (Cleo); his sons Randy (Julie), Eric, Scott, and Shawn (Shauna); four grandchildren; five nieces and nephews; and his first wife Joy Appleton.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 in Santa Cruz, CA, from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Please RSVP to memorial@forgaard.com">memorial@forgaard.com">memorial@forgaard.com">memorial@forgaard.com to receive details.
Donations in memoriam can be made in Jim's name to the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org), the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org), or a charity of your choice.