George Gilbert Forbes

George Gilbert Forbes was born at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane Washington on June 2, 1936 to George Alexander Forbes and Helen Gilbert Forbes (nee Edwards). As a child, his family vacationed in Junction City, OR, visiting the Edwards family. The family followed lodging opportunities in Sand Point, ID, and in Pullman WA. He attended Pullman High School and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, WA in 1954. From there he went to Washington State College (now University), where he studied Hotel and Restaurant Administration. As a youth he spent time working for his dad in hotels in Spokane in various capacities such as elevator operator and dishwasher.

From 1957-1959 he was in the army. His high typing speed made him a sought-after typist and he was stationed in the Pentagon with a Top Secret security clearance. His primary goal, however, was to somehow get the army to transport him to explore Scotland, which he did. He had Scottish Grandparents and throughout his life he was known to get misty at the sound of the skirling pipes. Much later, he would serve on the board of the Portland Scottish Highland Games. (He also, of course, named a kid Scotland). That goal being achieved, he returned to Pullman for more schooling.

His career took off as a sales rep. in San Francisco at the Hilton, where he rode the rise in the 1960s of the growing Hilton and then Hyatt empires. He married Mary Spinning from Lubbock, Texas in 1967. They had three daughters- Heather, Tracey (twins), and Jennifer. When he joined Hyatt in 1968, they had just 8 hotels. He managed hotels and resorts in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Burlingame, Chicago, Monterey, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, as well as the Hyatt national sales office. From 1975-1978 he opened and managed the Monterey Conference Center. He moved on in 1978 to California Parlor Car Tours as the Regional Manager. During this time he was also an avid runner, skier, and tennis player.

On a business trip to Seattle, he met and eventually married Rebecca Waddell from central Pennsylvania in 1980. They eventually had two sons, (Newell) Scotland and Brit. He was GM of Meadowood Resort and Country Club in St. Helena, CA for a short stint before settling in as the General Manager/VP Operations of Charlie's Restaurants in Seattle from 1982-1985. He managed the Inn at the Market and the Pacific Plaza hotels in Seattle from 1985-87. His career took him south to Solvang, California from 1988-1993 to run the Sheraton there. He oversaw the transition to an independent hotel called the "Royal Scandinavian Inn."

In 1993 he was given the opportunity to move back to the Pacific Northwest to run the Governor Hotel. (now the Sentinel), the only independent hotel in downtown Portland. During his tenure there, he and some other tourism-savvy partners began publishing the Portland Visitor's Map in 1998. He began directly running operations in 2004, and the map is still published today under the supervision of his son, Brit (pandemic notwithstanding).

During his almost 60 years of tourism industry work, he served on countless boards, committees, and groups. Those that saw him in full form can say with confidence that they've never saw someone else work a room quite like him. He was always a loyal Cougar for his alma mater and hometown college, usually working with the school of hospitality. He was the President of the King County Cougar Club, and in 1988 was awarded the Outstanding Service Award by the WSU Foundation. In 2018 he was inaugurated into the Washington State School of Hospitality Hall of Fame for his long and successful career in tourism. He loved watching Cougar football games, and was very emotionally invested in their outcomes. He also loved the Red Sox because he loved Ted Williams. He was relieved when they broke the Curse of the Bambino in '04, and saw them live at Fenway on the way to their 2018 World Series victory.

He is missed by his family, whom he loved deeply. He was preceded in death by his sister Sandy in 2016. He has a living sister, Mary Patricia Forbes Cheng, in Seattle. He is survived by all of five of the children mentioned above, who are all healthy, happy, adventurous, friendly, and married. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and many beloved nephews, nieces, and their families. He will especially be missed at Thanksgiving every year- a big extended family gathering.

Join us for his memorial at the Sentinel Hotel on February 8th, 2025. For more details on that event (planning in progress), or just to reach out- E-mail Scot at Scothikin@gmail.com.