Obituary of James Earl Forsythe

James (“Jimbo”) Earl Forsythe, 74, of Shelton passed away on May 26, 2018 following complications from prostate cancer treatment. Jim was born July 31, 1943 in Moline, IL, to Katherine (Gilbert) Forsythe and Philip Forsythe. Jim grew up in Illinois, graduated from Pekin High School in 1961, and attended Bradley College on a basketball scholarship before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps and serving in Vietnam. Following his honorable discharge from service, Jim moved to Iowa and began his career as a machinist at Caterpillar where he worked for 20 years. In 1987, Jim and his wife Jeannie moved to Washington following a plant closure. Jim worked for Boeing as a machinist for 22 years before retiring from their Skin & Spar facility in 2014. Throughout his career, Jim was active with the IAM and particularly enjoyed serving as a union shop steward. When Jim was younger, he excelled at baseball and basketball. Always gifted in athletics, he took up bowling later in life and proudly scored a perfect 300 game at the age of 54. Jim remained a sports enthusiast his entire life. Jim and Jeannie enjoyed many trips together, making several lifelong friends along the way. He was kind to every person he encountered and made friends easily. His loud laugh and sense of humor will be missed by many. Jim’s favorite role was that of grandfather. He treasured his time with his grandchildren and never turned down an opportunity to spend time with them. Jim is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jeannie, children Nicole Austin (Steve) of Pasco, WA, Tina Teague-Podolak (Patrik) of Kosice, Slovakia, and Eric Forsythe (Nancy) of Shelton, WA; grandchildren Megan, Augustine, Jeannie, James, and Patrik Jr.; siblings Melanie Forsythe and Dale Forsythe of Raeford, NC, and Melynda Crawford of Mount Ayr, IA. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Ron Mulvania, and grandson Matthew Austin. A memorial will take place on Saturday, July 14, 3 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 1212 Connection St., Shelton. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to the Ronald McDonald House (www.rmhcseattle.org) or the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund at Seattle Children’s Hospital (www.pbtrf.org).