Obituary for John Gordon Forsythe

John (Jack) Gordon Forsythe II, 72, of Chicago, IL, and Marana, AZ, died with his beloved wife, Theresa at his side on Wednesday, April 29th, in Tucson, AZ, at Banner University Hospital after a long battle with cancer. He was a resident of Marana, Arizona. Jack was born in Chicago on May 25, 1947.
 He graduated from St. Ignatius High School (’65), and Loyola University (’69), and received Master’s degrees from DePaul University (MST) and Northwestern University (MBA). He retired from Ecolab Inc. as the Chief Tax Officer and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Contract Sales in 2006.

Jack was a man committed to contributing to his community and church. He was a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Oro Valley, AZ, and St. Gregory the Great Church in Chicago, IL. 

He served on numerous non-profit boards, including the Red Cross of Minneapolis/St. Paul and Southern Arizona, the Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, Carondelet Hospital, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. He was perhaps most proud of assisting in founding the St. Paul Summer Song Festival as well as the Tucson Desert Song Festival. He wanted to share his deep love of classical vocal music and strengthen the many wonderful arts organizations in Tucson.

 Jack lived a life of fulfilled dreams. He had a family he loved dearly and was incredibly proud of his three children and their families. He celebrated fifty wonderful years of marriage with the love of his life, Theresa, and was frequently heard telling his children that, “My life began when Terry agreed to marry me,” and “Choosing her was the best decision I ever made.” He is dearly missed, but generated so many loving, fun, and humorous memories, that he will live on in the hearts of his many friends and relatives. He was a beloved husband, father of John Gordon (Jennifer Smith), Elizabeth Marie (Harold) Keaton, and Carolynn Anne (Eric ) Ahlstrom, eight grandchildren, (Matthew, Benjamin, and Anna Forsythe; Ellanora and Harold Daniel Keaton; Andrew, John Francis, and Rory Ahlstrom), a beloved brother of Jeffery Allen (Lou Nolan) Forsythe, Godfather to Catherine Wain and Christopher Warner, and uncle to numerous nieces and nephews. Jack is preceded in death by his parents, John Gordon Forsythe and Emily Catherine (Gasior).

 In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Jack and Terry Forsythe Recital Series via the Tucson Desert Song Festival (https://tucsondesertsongfestival.org/) or the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona https://www.communityfoodbank.org/. Memorial services will be held in Tucson, AZ and Chicago, IL at a later date in the future, when the social distancing restrictions for Covid-19, have eased and it is safe to gather to celebrate his life.