Dorothy Helen Forsythe
Aug. 4, 1931-Nov. 24, 2023
Menlo Park, California

Dorothy Helen Forsythe August 4, 1931- November 24, 2023

Dorothy Helen Forsythe passed away peacefully in Menlo Park, California, on November 24, 2023. She was surrounded by her family after a diagnosis of cancer just two weeks prior; she was 92 years old. Dorothy was born to Edna and Edward Ohlemutz in San Mateo, California, on August 4, 1931. She leaves behind three children, Beverly (John) Hickey, Susan Ebert, and John (Reagan) Forsythe, seven grandchildren, Greg Hickey, Scott (Kate) Hickey, Andrew Ebert, Haley (Tyler Cobian) Ebert, Dillon Forsythe, Blaine Forsythe, and Audrey Forsythe as well as three great grandchildren, and her niece, Carolyn McCune. Dorothy graduated from San Mateo High School, and attended community college. She married John Currie Forsythe in 1951. They were married for thirty-seven years. They lived in Arcata, California, where John was a high school teacher and in 1953 they moved to Eureka, where they had their first child, Beverly. The family then moved to Yuba City where they experienced a devastating flood in 1954, right before Christmas. Four and a half feet of water filled their home. In 1956, they were able to move back and had their second child, Susan. In 1957, the family returned to the Bay Area, where John started his long tenure teaching at the College of San Mateo and then at Cañada College. Dorothy was active in Faculty Wives and was a Girl Scout leader and room mother. On the 4th of July,1965, John Edward joined the family. This is also the year when the family became active at Bethany Lutheran Church in Menlo Park where Dorothy was a member until her passing. During her time at Bethany she held an office in the Altar Guild, filled and washed communion cups, cut down and decorated Christmas trees, prepared and served lunch to the Youngster’s group, often made goodies to serve at coffee hour and helped count offerings for many years. Once the girls went off to attend college and John Edward was more able to be on his own, Dorothy started a retail career. She worked for a few years at Bullocks in Palo Alto. When it closed, she went to I. Magnin at the Stanford Shopping Center until it closed in 1995. Missing retail, Dorothy then began volunteering at the Filoli Garden Shop in Woodside, CA. for 20 years.

With long time friends, Dorothy was able to have some wonderful travel adventures during her lifetime. These included cruises to Alaska, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the South Pacific, China and the Amazon. Dorothy loved spending time with her dogs, time in her garden, and time with her family. They held yearly reunions in Sunriver, Oregon, for over 30 years. The last gathering was in 2021, to celebrate her 90th birthday. Dorothy was a regular member in a variety of exercise classes, including those offered at Little House in Menlo Park. Since COVID she and her neighbor met three times a week to do a Zoom class at home. A memorial will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 13, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Menlo Park. Contributions can be made to Filoli, https://filoli.org/ Bethany Lutheran Church https://bethany-mp.org/, or Mission Hospice https://www.missionhospice.org/.