Agatha S. Forsyth

1941 - 2019

Agatha S. Forsyth was born June 15, 1941, to George L. Schenck and Jane Debevoise Schenck. She passed away March 25, 2019 from complications of pneumonia and cancer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska where she was lovingly treated by the staff. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Agatha spent her youth between Tenafly and Bay Head, N.J. where she began a lifelong love affair with the ocean and met her husband. She graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, N.J. and attended Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn. She was married to Joseph L. Forsyth in 1963. They raised their two daughters, Leigh A. Forsyth and Sarah Christie Kerr in Haddam Neck, Conn. They divorced in 1988 but maintained an amicable relationship.

Agatha was a jack of all trades. She drove kids to kindergarten at the Middle Haddam School where she also worked as a teacher's aide, worked at a woodworking company, ran the summer recreation program in Haddam Neck and was a member of the Haddam Neck Fire department. She began working at (the former) CT Yankee Power Plant for Burns Security and rose through the ranks to become head of security at Milestone Nuclear Power Plant in Niantic, Conn.

In the mid-eighties, Agatha switched careers to be in the hospitality industry. She went from shuttle driver to manager at the Holiday Inn in Springfield, Mass. In 1990, Agatha followed her dream and relocated to Maine. There she worked for Sugarloaf Mountain and then the University of Maine at Farmington in facilities maintenance. She retired December 31, 2005. In Maine, she created a new family of friends and met her soulmate Diana K. Jahn.

Agatha and Diana relocated to Purdum, Neb. in May 2006. They made many friends and enjoyed life in the Sandhills. Agatha fell in love with the prairie and the Sandhills and reveled in working the ranch and serving the church. They became members of the Congregational United Church of Christ in Purdum where Diana is currently pastor and Agatha was deacon. Agatha also assisted with the vacation bible school for 11 years in Brewster and happily volunteered for pretty much anything that came along. She loved bowling with her dear friend Donna Jensen.

Diana and Agatha were married in 2016 in Jay, Maine after 25 years together. It was celebration of life and love enjoyed by their friends and family.

Agatha enjoyed the outdoors, team sports, skiing, walking, kayaking and being at the beach. She lived her faith and spirituality in all her actions. She could do anything: cook, fix plumbing, paint a building or paint a picture. People marveled at her kindness, strength, unconditional generosity of deed and spirit and unparalleled appreciation of and enthusiasm for the beauty of being alive and nature.

She is survived by her widow Pastor Diana K Jahn of Purdum and Jay, Maine and their beloved dog Fannie-Mae; ex-husband Joseph of Haddam Neck, Conn.; daughters Leigh of Clinton, Conn. and Christie Kerr and her husband Doug of Point Pleasant, N.J.; brothers Paul Schenck and his wife Uta of Ohio, Ken Boyle of Pinehurst, N.C., and Brewster Schenck and wife Cheri of Poway, Calif.; her sister Suzanne B. Van Schoick and her husband John of Bay Head, N.J.; her mother-in-law and father-in-law Keith and Lois Jahn; and several beloved nieces, nephews and beloved friends in Maine and Nebraska.

She is predeceased by her parents Jane and George and her beloved step-mother Anne, her brother George; and her beloved aunt Mary Brewer.

Memorial services will be Friday, March 29 at 11 a.m. at the Purdum Church of Christ in Purdum with Pastor Steven Uzzell officiating. There will be additional Celebrations of Life services in Jay, Maine, and Bay Head, N.J. at later dates.

Flowers can be sent to Govier Brothers Mortuary, 542 9th Avenue in Broken Bow, Neb. In lieu of flowers, a donation to a charity you are passionate about is greatly appreciated. Agatha and Diana were passionate supporters of the Heifer project and the American Cancer Society.

Govier Brothers are in charge of arrangements. Online condolences can be left at www.govierbrothers.com