Forgan, Robert C.

Description

Robert C. Forgan

Robert “Bob” Congdon Forgan was born on August 5, 1920, in Rye, New York, to Elizabeth Julia Congdon, age 34, and Robert Forgan, age 36. In Rye his family lived at 5 Mohawk St. and were members of the Presbyterian Church. Bob was a graduate of Choate and Princeton class of 1942.

Princeton was very much a part of Bob’s life, with two uncles preceding him and two cousins following him. Bob came to Princeton from Choate, majored in economics, and was a member of Cottage Club.

Bob enlisted in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Following graduation he wanted to join his classmates in the service, but was classified 4F because of his arthritis in Sept. 1942, however, the Army opened what they called ‘limited service” for which Bob volunteered and was accepted by the Air Force. He subsequently spent one year at Randolph Field in Texas.

Robert Forgan in Air Force
Robert C. Forgan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Forgan, of Mohawk Street, has enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. He reported Wednesday.
Friday, September 25, 1942 THE RYE CHRONICLE PAGE NINE

Upon returning to N.Y., he joined the Air Reduction Co. and was sent to Pittsburgh for four years. He missed his family, friends, and N.Y. so much that he resigned and returned to take a job at AMERICAN HOME magazine, where he stayed for 23 years as manager of the mail order dept. Bob loved his job and left only when American Home went under.

He married Ruth Rutherford Cutler on February 2, 1963, in New York, New York.

In 1973 Bob and his wife, Ruth, moved to their favorite town, Sarasota, Fla. He was on crutches at the time, but landed a job with the Tampa TRIBUNE covering a territory from Naples to Bradenton. He continued in this capacity for 16 years. After being confined to a wheelchair, he continued to work and received his last commission check only a couple of months before his death.

Robert “Bob” Congdon Forgan, died on December 10, 1990, at the age of 70 at his home in Sarasota, Fla. Bob had suffered from arthritis throughout virtually his entire life, but it never slowed him down or diminished his enthusiasm for his family, his friends, and his work. Although severely crippled and eventually confined to a wheelchair, he continued working actively right up to the end.