Donald D. Forsyth

Funeral services for Donald D. Forsyth, 82, Lawrence, will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Plymouth Congregational Church. Private family burial will take place at Memorial Park Cemetery.Mr. Forsyth died Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.He was born March 6, 1926, in Manila, Philippines, the son of Lt. Cmdr. George D. Forsyth USN and Anne B. Birnie Forsyth.He attended public schools in Long Beach, Calif.; Norfolk, Va.; and Quincy, Mass., where he graduated in June 1943.He attended Northeastern University in Boston for one year before entering the Navy V-12 College Program at Tufts College in Medford, Mass. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering and was commissioned an Ensign, USNR in February 1946.He later transferred to the regular Navy and served on the light cruiser Denver and destroyers Soley, Hanson and Waldron. In February 1950, he received flight training at the Naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., and received his Navy wings in Corpus Christi, Texas, in May 1951. He served at the Naval air center at Patuxent River in Maryland, the Naval facility in Port Lyautey in North Africa and various aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean area from 1951 until 1954. He was a flight instructor in Pensacola from 1954 to 1957. He joined the Pacific Fleet based on Whidbey Island, Wash., and served on the Aircraft Carrier Midway. He later served as flight test division officer at the Naval Missile Center, Point Mugu, Calif.; air operations officer at Naval Station Midway Island; and executive assistant to the deputy commander of the Bureau of Naval Weapons in Washington, D.C.In 1969 he moved to Lawrence, to serve as executive officer of the Kansas University Naval ROTC Unit until his retirement June 30, 1972.Following retirement, he entered graduate school at KU and was awarded a Master of Science in water resources engineering in 1973 and a Master of Business Administration in 1975. From 1976 until 1988, he was the real estate appraiser and retirement programs officer at Lawrence Savings Association and Columbia Savings.Following retirement from Columbia Savings, he worked as an independent real estate appraiser and new construction inspector.He was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church, the Lawrence Kiwanis Club, for which he served as president in 1986-87, the Elks Club, the American Legion, The Jayhawk Model Masters Flying Club and Big Blue Sportsmen’s Club.Mr. Forsyth married Rose Marie Livezey in Corpus Christi, Texas, on June 1, 1951. She died April 15, 2008.He was also preceded in death by his sister, Louise.Survivors include three sons, Michael and Patrick, both of Lawrence, and Robert, of Papillion, Neb.; and six grandchildren, Emily, Kelly, Alex, Daniel, David and Elizabeth.The family will greet friends from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. The family suggests memorials to American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14, sent in care of the mortuary.Online condolences may be sent to warrenmcelwain.com, subject: Forsyth.