John A. Forbes Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

COLEBROOK – John A. Forbes, 82, died peacefully at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital on Thursday evening, Dec. 29, 2016, after a year-long battle with cancer and with his loving family by his side. He was born in at home in Colebrook on Oct. 10, 1934, a son to the late Lyman and Helen (Cordwell) Forbes. John was a Colebrook Academy graduate in the Class of 1952, and he was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He had various types of employment in different parts of the country in the 1960s. He was a licensed real estate broker in California for a number of years before returning to Colebrook to establish his own real estate firm that was in business for more than 20 years. John continued to operate a property management business at the time of his death. John was active in numerous organizations in his community. He was proud to be a founding member of the Colebrook Kiwanis Club, and held several offices at the district and international levels. He was a member of the American Legion, Post 47, in Canaan, Vt., and also the North Country Board of Realtors and the New Hampshire Board of Realtors. He served on the Colebrook Planning Board for 18 years, with 8 of those as chairman. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees for UCVH for 6 years. He is survived by several children who he helped to raise and who were his “proudest accomplishment”: Dana Tillinghast of Beecher Falls, Vt.; Lina Dasconio of Oregon; Roy ‘Buzz’ McKinnon, Jr. of Beecher Falls; Kevin McKinnon of Tennessee; Robert McKinnon of Colebrook and Patricia (McKinnon) Hinds of Colebrook; as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. John also leaves behind two sisters, Lillian (Forbes) Thibeault of Epsom, NH, and Hazel (Forbes) Daley of Hopkinton, NH; his closest friend whom he called his brother, Frederick ‘Dusty’ Dustin of Colebrook; his love and companion, whom he called his ‘Angel & Rock’, Betty Hughes of Canaan, Vt., who John said “shared so much with me in such a short time, including her beautiful family in which I have been honored to be included.” He is preceded in death by a step-mother, Althea (Roby)Forbes; a sister, Elaine (Forbes) Hanneman, and his beloved wife and soulmate Jeannie (Dasconia) Forbes. Memorial calling hours will be held at the Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook, NH, on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, from 2 to 5 p.m. A graveside service with military honors will be held in the spring at the Reed Cemetery on Forbes Hill Road in East Colebrook, of which notice will be given. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Mr. Forbes may be made to the Les Beal Scholarship Fund, c/o Colebrook Kiwanis, P.O. Box 241, Colebrook, NH 03576. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Funeral arrangements in NH are under the direction of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook.

John A. Forbes

October 10, 1934 - December 29, 2016