Elaine Annie Forrest

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Elaine grew up in The Pas and attended Children’s Hospital School of Nursing in Winnipeg, from which she graduated in 1959. She moved across Canada several times with her young family, settling in Centennial, CO, for 37 years before moving to Arizona in 2018.

She was a dedicated nurse in the ER, Labor and Delivery, and ICU units for 50 years. After retirement, she volunteered at the Denver Art Museum and the Delores Project. Though she suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis for decades, she refused to be limited by it, and her fortitude was an inspiration to all who knew her. With her husband Jim she traveled the world, from sailing around Tonga to the sidewalk cafes of Paris to cruising up the Yangtze. She loved to explore new destinations and could enjoy the best of any place, especially when there was a Negroni to be had.

Elaine was outgoing and passionate about speaking up for the causes she believed in. She was warm-hearted and funny and suffered no fools. She made lifelong friends wherever she was and kept people close no matter how many miles separated them, organizing many reunion trips with her nursing school classmates across Canada and to her favorite vacation spot, Puerto Vallarta.

Elaine is survived by her beloved husband of 64 years, James Forrest, her children Cathy (Jim Kirk), Chris (Andrea), and Craig (Susan) Forrest, her granddaughters Regan (Gary Suarez) Hofmann and Olivia Forrest, and her great-granddaughter Anna Jane Suarez. She was preceded in death by her brother, Jim Chalmers, and her parents, Jean and Foster Chalmers.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Elaine’s name to Doctors Without Borders or St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital, of which she was a longtime supporter.