Agnes Mae Perez Forstrom

Agnes Mae Perez Forstrom passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on January 12, 2026.

Agnes, lovingly known as Agy, was born on May 13, 1937, at French Hospital in Los Angeles, California, to Naomi Isabelle Fulton Perez and Arturo "Arthur" Alfonso Perez. She attended Hawthorne High School, where she was a majorette, and later studied at El Camino College and California State University. Early in her career, she worked as a secretary for Northrop Aviation.

On October 13, 1962, Agy married the love of her life, Robert William Forstrom. She loved to tell the story of a football suddenly sailing through the air during their wedding, and how she caught it without hesitation. They were blessed with four children: Mya Marie, Timothy Robert, Liza Naomi, and Suzanne Agnes, who were the center of Agy's life. She turned mothering into an art form. She loved her children into becoming their best selves, supporting them with her whole soul. She baked whole wheat bread, sprouted alfalfa, and prepared nourishing meals, efforts sometimes met with creative teenage resistance involving hidden junk food wrappers and vitamins tucked behind beds. Her devotion to family inspired her to write two books, Raising Best Friends and Forever Dear. She lived her life with love, joy, and deep determination.

She loved old movies, especially Shirley Temple films, the Gidget beach movies, and musicals with Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, and James Cagney, often playing their music throughout the house or in the car. As a little girl, Agy's mother often styled her hair like Shirley Temple's. The joy, creativity, and tenderness Agy found on screen became part of how she expressed love in her own life. Agy wrote countless handwritten notes to her children and grandchildren for birthdays, holidays, and ordinary days, simply because she wanted people to know she was thinking of them. She often added small cartoons, colorful drawings, poetry, or gentle words of encouragement.

Mom had a wide and enduring circle of friends that she kept in touch with throughout her life. She also had a great sense of humor and once remarked that the red bathroom in her Chippewa home looked like a "brothel". She lived in many places, including California, Minnesota, Iowa, Georgia, Ohio, Hawaii, and Utah, and she gave out Books of Mormon everywhere she went. She traveled extensively, finding beauty and inspiration in Turkey, Italy (especially the Amalfi Coast), Belgium, Germany, France, Morocco, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, England, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Portugal, and Gibraltar. She loved learning about her Basque heritage. While she loved Ireland deeply, her favorite place in the world was Balboa Island, surrounded by her family and the ocean.

Mom possessed a keen intuition and a rare ability to discern people, often saying things like "She has a nice face". She trusted her instincts and was more often right than not. She loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren beyond measure. As her father once said, she "got her money's worth" out of life.

She is survived by her beloved children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, including:

• Mya Marie Gomm, Robert Jeffrey Gomm, and Robert Jeffrey Jr. (RJ) Gomm

• Kathleen Marie Hamilton, Mark Elliott Hamilton, Jeffery Scott Hamilton, and Madelyn Marie Hamilton

• Elizabeth Alexandra Edwards, Mark Jacob Edwards, Andrew James Edwards, and Luke Jacob Edwards

• Liza Naomi Forstrom

• Timothy Robert Forstrom, Michelle Dorothy Forstrom, Spencer Jonas Forstrom, and Hyrum Elias Forstrom

• Suzanne Agnes Forstrom

• Agnes Isabelle Rose Sio, Iosefo Sio, and Agnes Simamoa Sio

While we will miss her more than words can express, we are profoundly grateful that families are forever. We know, without doubt, that she was joyfully reunited with her beloved Bob, her parents, and many dear friends who went before her. We can only imagine the celebration, because Mom loved a good party. Those who knew her were changed by her. She embraced people instantly and completely. She made things happen and is still working her magic from beyond the veil.