James J. Forth

James (Jim) Forth, 91, died Saturday, February 20 at his home in Niskayuna, surrounded by his loving family, after a brief illness. Jim leaves his wife of 16 years, Barbara. His first wife, Ursula, passed away in 1997. They were married 49 years. Son of the late Peter Matthew Forth and Margaret Ann Flynn, Jim is survived by his children, James J. (Maureen) Forth of North Carolina, Michael D. (Linda) Forth of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Catherine M. Forth of Rexford, NY, Patricia F. (Mark) Kaye of Glenville, NY and Mark T. (Barbara) Forth of Laguna Hills, California. Jim is predeceased by his son, Robert W. (Elizabeth) Forth. Jim is also survived by his sisters, Barbara Nerrow and Mary Willsey; and predeceased by his sister, Joan Verald; and brothers, Maurice Forth and Peter Forth. In addition, he is survived by his grandsons, Steven, Patrick, Ian, Daniel, Nicholas, Thomas and Andrew; and his granddaughters, Valerie, Gillian, Ashley, Laura and Veronica; and his six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two step daughters, Anne (Ed) Wheeler of Middlebury, VT and Ruth (Michael) McEvoy of Galway, NY. In addition he is survived by step grandsons, Nicholas and Christopher; and step granddaughters Jessica, Anna and Rachel; and five step great-grandchildren. Jim was a decorated veteran of two wars, serving in both World War II as provost marshall of an army base and in the Korean Conflict as commander of a prisoner of war camp. Jim was a communicant of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady for 45 years. He and his wife, Ursula, were founding members of the Schenectady Right to Life Organization, where Jim served as chapter president for many years. He was also active in earlier years in the American Red Cross in disaster relief work. Jim had a long career as a General Electric Human Resources executive, starting out at KAPL in Niskayuna, and moving to Pittsfield, MA and Greenville. SC, before returning to Schenectady, where he retired from the Gas Turbine business in 1986 at age 62, after 34 years of service. He opened his own consulting firm, Forth & Associates, which he ran for 13 years and developed the foundation for the Transfinder Company, which is run by Tony Civitella, his former business partner. Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24 at Jones Funeral Home, 1503 Union St. (at McClellan St.) in Schenectady. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday morning, February 25 at 9 a.m. at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church on Rosa Road in Schenectady, with interment to follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Waterford, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Ave., Ste. 200, Manhattan Beach, California 90266, pancan.org or to the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage, NY 11714, lustgarten.org. To leave a special message for Jim's family, please visit www.jonesfh.net.