Mary Edith Forsythe

The Forsythe family home in Wichita Falls, Texas is empty and quiet for the first time in 60 years. A lonely silence accompanies the morning sun, broken only by the soft chirping of hungry songbirds waiting at empty feeders. The matriarch of the family, Mary Edith Forsythe, at age 96, has crossed out of this earthly existence to join her dearly loved husband in a new world of bright sunrises and beautiful days. There she was greeted by a wonderful host, including her son John, many generations of family members, a whole host of ever-faithful canines, and a lone black and white tomcat. In the Lord’s vision Mary had completed her service to him on this earth and her duties to her family and she passed into His care for her eternal rest from the labors of this earth on 17 April 2020, after a long struggle with heart failure complicated by an unexpected onset of pneumonia.

Mary Forsythe (Dinsmore) was born November 18th 1923 in Electra, Texas to Benjamin M. Dinsmore and Bennie Mae Dinsmore (Holcomb). She grew up in Electra and Wichita Falls during the Great Depression and experienced the storms and drought of the Dustbowl throughout her teenage years. She attended college at the Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas during World War II. Mary was an accomplished violinist and a member of the school orchestra and several dance bands prior to her graduation with a degree in primary school education. After graduation she moved to Fort Worth and began a career as a first grade teacher and educator. In 1948 she met and married Clarence E. Forsythe, a flight engineer in the U.S. Air Force, who became the “forever love” and center of her life. For 12 years she and Clarence bounced from state to state and air base to air base across the country with the Strategic Air Command before returning to Wichita Falls in 1960 where Mary began teaching 1st grade at Kate Burgess Elementary School. She retired for the first time in 1973 along with her husband and they began a second career visiting vacation areas fishing, and sightseeing across the U.S. After her Clarence’s death in 1993 Mary began several other careers simultaneously, juggling what turned out to be an almost 20 year career as a book seller and assistant store manager with a long-term association with adult education, where she specialized in tutoring English as a second Language. During this time her association with the Floral Heights Methodist Church brought her into contact with several other community and church members interested in assisting the underserved youth in the Floral Height area of Wichita Falls. Out of this came the first Latch-Key afterschool program in Wichita Falls. This was nearly a full time effort but she managed to juggle its needs with her other careers for almost ten years. Finally deciding that no-one should work forever she retired from the business world and community service for the last time and began traveling to see all the places she had heard about and dreamed of; visiting Europe, Alaska and Canada as well as the east coast of the U.S. and Central America. Along the way she made many friends that accompanied her in later travels.

Devotion to family and friends defined her life and nothing was more important to her than maintaining the relationships she and her family developed over the years. The Dinsmore and Holcomb family reunions were her favorites and she filled several scrapbooks with photographs and memories of family activities and adventures. She was also a serious aficionado of crossword puzzles and most recently spent over a week transferring “new” information and corrections from her decrepit million word dictionary into a new one.

Mary loved Floral Heights Methodist Church and was an active participant in many of the church’s programs and activities for over 20 years. Her largest personal regret in her later years was her physical inactivity to continue in-person participation at the worship services and fellowship activities. Both she and her family appreciate the continuing and faithful support provided to her over the years by the church staff and the many members who went out of their way to check on her and pray both for and with her.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband Clarence E. Forsythe; parents Benjamin and Bennie Mae Dinsmore; her brother Denny and sister Helen; and her son John Edward. Survivors here on earth include her son Clarence E. Forsythe of Wichita Falls; Bruce Dinsmore of Cypress, California and his wife Sharon; Judy Dinsmore-Mathis and her husband John Mathis of Sulphur, LA; Stacy and Rylee Deshotel of Kinder, LA, Rosalie Donahue of Aurora, Colorado; Glenda Ward of Greenville, Texas; Donna Ward of Rowlett, Texas; Vicki Clemons of Edgerton, Kansas; Doug Donahue of Denver, Colorado; Clark Forsythe of Weatherford, Texas; Mary Foster of Waco, Texas; and the Emerson Byrd family of Redding, California.

Numerous friends, including Greg and Linda Walker, Ted and Linda Cloud, Cindy Jennings, Doris and Bill Altman, Ethel Kendell, Thelma, Betty and Ken Birck, Margaret and Wendall Carroll, Urial Ross, and Jenny and Harley Shelton formed an extension of Mary’s family and she always delighted in keeping up-to-date on their adventures and experiences and the stories that entertained holiday gatherings and visits.

Due to the national emergency there will be no visitation or chapel service. Mary’s funeral will be a simple graveside service at the Dinsmore family plot of the Hampton Vaughan Crestview Memorial Park at 10:00 AM Wednesday, April 22, 2020. A memorial service will be scheduled for family and friends at a later date.

In lieu of funeral flowers and displays Mary specifically requested that memorials and remembrances be made to the Humane Society of Wichita County at 4360 Old Iowa Park Road, Wichita Falls, Texas 76305 or to Floral Heights Methodist Church at 2214 10th Street, Wichita Falls, Texas 76309.

Arrangements are under the direction of Hampton Vaughan Crestview Funeral Home. You may share condolence thoughts and memories with the family at www.hamptonvaughancrestview.com.