James Lee Forsythe
Hays, KS – James Lee Forsythe, age 77, a native of Texas and longtime resident of Hays, Kansas, died December 16, 2011, at his son’s house in Russell, Kansas. He was born December 18, 1934, in Bransford, Texas. He was the son of Roy Theodore Forsythe and Irma Mae (Smith) Forsythe. He married Sherrill Kay (Zartman) on August 10, 1956. She died March 14, 2010. His ancestry is Scottish; the first Forsyths arrived in Orange County, North Carolina, in the 1780s.
James attended public school in Pleasant Run, Texas, and graduated from Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas. He earned his Associate Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of North Texas, and his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. He served three years in the Texas Air National Guard, two years active duty in the Army, and eight years of inactive duty in the Army Reserves.
James worked more than ten years for Delta Airlines in Texas, and thirty-six years at Fort Hays State University. While at the University, he held several positions, including a Professorship in the History Department, Chair of the History Department, Dean of the Graduate School, and Vice Provost. James was the progenitor and federal grant writer behind Fort Hays State University’s drive to become a computerized, hi-tech campus, beginning in the mid 1980s. Unknown to most, FHSU was for a decade the most highly computerized university in the United States. He retired in December of 1999.
He wrote two histories of Fort Hays State University, and co-authored a book on the Volga German settlement of western Kansas. In his final months of life, he wrote a book detailing his upbringing in Texas.
He was active in various political organizations, was president of both the Western Social Science Association and the Kansas State Historical Society, and was a member of the Hays Sister Cities Board. However, his most enjoyable times were spent with students in the classroom.
James was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by three sons, James L. Forsythe Jr. and wife Rita Rae, Russell, KS; Garen David Forsythe and wife, Patricia Ann, Emporia, KS; Dana Sean Forsythe; two brothers, Calvin Forsythe, Paradise, TX; and Joe Forsythe, Euless, TX , five sisters Betty Bramlett, North Richland Hills, TX; Louise Evans, Alvarado, TX; Martha Bufe, Colleyville, TX; Jane Dethloff, Kennedale, TX; and Nancy Carroll, Kennedale, TX. He is survived also by four grandchildren: Ryan Tyler Forsythe, Hays, KS; Charissa Joann Forsythe, Ariel Annette Forsythe, and Kieran Richard Forsythe, all of Emporia, KS: one great-grandchild: Aidan Tyler Forsythe: two step grandchildren: Cristy Lea Dinkel and Craig Oren Atkerson, both of Hays, KS; two step great-grandchildren, Rylee Daven Atkerson and Reanna Renee Atkerson, both of Hays, KS.
The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, December 21, 2011, at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays 1919 East 22nd Hays, KS 67601. Pastor Benny Lowery will officiate. The funeral service will be followed by a brief graveside service and interment at Mount Allen Cemetery, Hays, Kansas, with military honors by the Hays V.F.W. Post No. 9076.
Visitation will be at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, and 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, at the mortuary. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society, the American Parkinson Disease Association, the Humane Society of the High Plains, and History Department Scholarships at Fort Hays State University. Condolences may be sent via e-mail to Cline’s Mortuary of Hays at [email protected].