Gary G. Forster

Gary Gene Forster, 79, passed away October 12, 2025 at MercyOne in Des Moines. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, November 2, 2025 at McLaren’s Resthaven Chapel in West Des Moines. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Monday, November 3, 2025 at Prairie Creek Church in Grimes. Entombment will be at Resthaven Cemetery Mausoleum.

Gary was a father to three daughters and a stepdaughter, brother to an older sibling (deceased 2025), a stepsister (deceased 2025) and stepbrother also named Gary –he hated being the baby of the family. He was godparent and uncle to several nieces and nephews, a grandfather to nine, a husband who treated his wife like a princess, had a very spoiled goldendoodle, and a friend and neighbor to many.

Gary was a man of faith, an avid reader, ever the pleaser, kind, generous, a good listener, the “best tour guide at Terrace Hill. He felt most happy and close to God when he was in “his orchard” and our flower gardens. It pained him to prune, and no one could mow his lawn right! He told everyone, “Margaret creates and I maintain”.

Gary’s life was turned upside down when his mother suddenly died when he was only seven years old. His father married soon after her passing and he gained another brother and sister. Growing up Lutheran he felt God’s presence in his life and even wrote sermons during his confirmation classes. He knew he wanted to be a pastor first and a meteorologist second.

He continued to write and be very active in his church until he graduated and joined the Air Force to study meteorology. Life took a turn and he was assigned to be a K-9 attack handler during the Vietnam War. He escaped injury many times and believed the prayers of his mother and grandmother were a key factor in his safe return home. He said, “war sometimes makes you a bad person” and he didn't feel worthy to pursue the ministry. Instead, he left his hometown of Cleveland, OH and went to school at the University of Michigan “GO BLUE!” to study meteorology.

After graduation he took a job with the National Weather Service (NOAA) first in Minneapolis and then Des Moines in 1974 until he retired in 2007. Working shift work at NOAA was hard with a family and raising three daughters in a Christian setting. He never missed Sunday service with them or the opportunity to be an elder or serve on a church committee. What a dad, he loved them so much! He even found the time and energy to work part-time for a garden center which was another love of his!

In 2003, Gary and Margaret married. All the girls were married and before long, they had grandkids! Nine of them – that meant trips to see the grandkids that lived far away (and of course, their parents). For the step-grandkids in town, Gary became a part of their lives, going to their football games, show choir and concerts and having weekly Sunday night dinners together!

It was painful watching the local weather channels with Gary; he was always correcting them!! He was proud of his accomplishments with the ‘93 floods and he made history with his fellow workers with the “Forster High”. When he retired in 2007 from NOAA, he succumbed to God’s calling and off he went to school to become a local licensed pastor. He loved learning and being a small church pastor sharing God’s word, a volunteer pastor at Wesley Retirement, and forever preaching that it was not about religion but about relationships.

Gary leaves a legacy of loving, learning, listening and serving for all of us to follow.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Tunnel to Towers, Mayo Clinic or Prairie Creek Church.