Warren L. "Tuck" Forsythe

Warren L. "Tuck" Forsythe was born June 7th 1944 in Alexandria, Virginia, to George Elmer Forsythe and Alexandra Illmer Forsythe, when his father was serving at the Pentagon during World War II. His family moved to California where he played little league in Santa Monica as a child and attended high school in Palo Alto. During his undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College he majored in Math. During his graduate studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison he transitioned from Math to Biological Sciences and met Kay Alice Scribner through Hoofers climbing club. Tuck led a successful expedition to climb Denali in Alaska in 1966 - 4 college kids on a shoestring, who drove an old beater to the end of the road and walked every inch of the way up the mountain. Tuck and Kay just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary May 18, 2017. Tuck was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war, serving at a psychiatric hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont. In 1970-71 they built a log cabin in a remote area of mountainous BC, Canada. Tuck followed his Masters with a Doctorate in Forest Ecology at University of Montana-Missoula. Tuck survived Hodgkins Lymphoma in the 70's. During the 70's Kay served as a seasonal naturalist at Arches National Park near Moab, UT. The time spent in the canyonlands area of southern Utah led to a lifelong interest in canyons and hiking that they both enjoyed!! In 1979 son Tad Amilcar Castillo Forsythe was adopted from El Salvador, followed by daughter AnaMaria Salgado Forsythe in 1981. During the winter of 1983 the Forsythe family moved to Ellensburg, WA where both children attended public schools.
Tuck was involved in various clubs and groups - Kittitas Valley Genealogical Society, Family History Center, Ellensburg Public Library, Ecumenical Church bookkeeper, Quakers, Zen group of Ellensburg, Great Vow Monastery.Exploring the Cascades and returning to the sandstone canyons of the Colorado Plateau have been important ventures every year. Travel was a marvelous adventure over the years, mostly in the US, also in France, Norway, Mexico and beyond. Other involvements have been Audubon Society, Ice Age Floods Institute, Oregon and California Trails Association.
Tuck's main passions over the years were anthropology and languages, number theory, botany and genealogy. Stemming from a long family involvement with education, Tuck conceived of the idea to create a professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Supporting a master's program for high school teachers of biology, this position honors Kay's parents Charles and Mary Louise Tenley Scribner. Over the course of his life he moved through phases of cereal: Total, Fortified Oat Flakes, Cheerios, Shredded wheat, ending up with granola in the past 15 years.
He is survived by his loving wife Kay Forsythe, his daughter Rhea Brown and her husband Tim and grandchildren Daniel(10), Jasmine(8) and Davin(7). He is also survived by his son Tad Forsythe, his wife Nikki and grandchildren Luca(6) and Aubrey(4), and sister-in-law Jean M Scribner. Tuck was known for his research skills and is survived by many friends of whom he kept track throughout the years. These folks afar are especially remembered: Judy Thomas, Ted and Ginny Moore, Paul and Margie Hlava, and Walt and Lora Loope.
Warren Louis Forsythe died June 1, 2017 at his home with family, happy to have flown the hospital where he was in and out for 2 weeks.
Memorials to Kittitas County Genealogical Society and Oregon/California Trails Association.
Reception for Tuck will be Sunday, June 4th from 1 to 3 pm at Ellensburg United Methodist Church. Celebration of Life will follow at a later date.