Forrest Werner

Forrest Kingsbury Werner Jr., born March 14, 1929, made the very most of his 86 years. He grew up in Evansville, Indiana on the banks of the Ohio River. It was there that he first fell in love with boats and for most of his life he owned one. When he wasn’t running around with his cousins, he could be found under the hood of a car learning how to fix a carburetor and use foul language. In the summers, he mowed lawns at the cemetery his family owned. That experience taught him about hard work. It also taught him the importance of a college education. In 1951, he graduated from Indiana University and married a fellow Hoosier named Jane Denton, a woman he always described as smarter and prettier than him. After being drafted, he attended Officer Candidate School and served as a Tank Commander First Lieutenant in Korea. In 1960, he moved his wife and two young daughters to Orange County where he opened a gas station. But it wasn’t until he began teaching in 1965 that he found his calling. He spent 27 years in the Garden Grove Unified School District as a teacher and guidance counselor at Pacifica and Santiago High Schools. He was always in to helping kids. He even had a vanity license plate that said so. His passion for education led him to serve on the Newport - Mesa School Board from 1981-1994 and to help found the Newport - Mesa Schools Foundation. His involvement in the community also extended to the Hoag Hospital Community Advisory Board and a variety of civic affairs in Costa Mesa. On most Sundays, he attended the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant where he was a head usher and he also led several outreach programs. His journey with Jane lasted nearly 64 years. During that time, they visited all 50 states and had adventures everywhere from Maui to Moscow. They were also crazy about Indiana Hoosiers basketball, following the team to tournaments as far away as Alaska. As a member of the Dana West Yacht Club, he captained countless fishing trips and whale watching expeditions. He was a Shriner. He rode motorcycles. He was a below-average skier. A sharp dresser. And he played softball until just a couple of years ago. He loved a good BLT. He loved the theater. He loved reading biographies. And he loved going to Angel’s games. But Forrest would have told you that nothing brought him more joy than his children, ten grand children and great granddaughter. They filled his heart with the sort of happiness that he loved to hear Nat King Cole sing about.

If you’d like to join the family as they celebrate his life, a service will be held at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Costa Mesa on Sunday November 1st at 2 pm. All are welcome. There will be a private burial at sea.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that remembrances be sent to the Newport - Mesa Schools Foundation. Knowing that he was making a difference in the lives of teachers and their students always put a smile on Forrest’s face.