Bruce and Bill, about three months before Bills death.

   Eulogy by BRUCE BEARDEN

Tomorrow, August 1, 2006 will mark 25 years to the day, when I first met Bill. I had plans on taking his daughter, Vonda, out on a date. When I came to pick her up, she quickly informed me that no one took her out on a date without first meeting her parents. "I didn't know this was going to be a package deal". Well I went inside and met them and I guess I passed inspection, because he let me leave with his daughter.  


Eighteen months later, I married Vonda and was welcomed into the Forsythe Family. Over the past 25 years, I have come to know each of the "Forsythe Boys" and their clans pretty well. Bill, Robert, Raymond, Pete and Richard. Kenneth was already deceased. Each one is a little different than the other, yet when assembled, fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, presenting a picture of what family ought to be.


Today we are gathered here to honor one of the corner pieces of the Forsythe Family, W. W. (Bill) Forsythe. I felt more scared than honored when Bill asked me to say a few words at his funeral. Today as I stand before you, I feel more honored than scared as I share with you a few of my thoughts about Bill and some of the good times we were able to share together.


I found Bill to be a very generous man. Many of you here today can also attest to this. I lived just down the trail from Bill and Myrtice for nearly 20 years. I always looked forward to springtime because I knew it wouldn't be long before Bill would show up on my doorstep with a sack of fresh vegetables. As spring turned into summer, He would make daily deliveries , even though we had no more room for them. And if we weren't home when he came a knockin', he would just leave them on the front porch. He just kept on coming.


He also invested a lot of his time planting and cultivating fruit trees. When I look in his yard today, I see apple trees, pear trees, fig trees, persimmon trees, plum trees, banana trees, and more pecan trees than you can shake a stick at. He has even improved the yield that these trees produce through grafting techniques that I am not intelligent enough to discuss with you to today. Maybe some of you have been the beneficiaries of his talents in this area.


Bill was also generous to me with his knowledge and time. He would tell me how to do something, but more importantly, he would show me how. It didn't matter to Bill if the task was pleasant or not. It may have been digging up a septic line, working on my beat up cars, fixing up my house or hunting, he was always there. If Bill would hear me working at the house, it wouldn't be ten minutes before he would show up, hammer-in-hand, ready to work. More times than not, he would show me a better way of doing what I was doing without being critical. He spent the better part of ten years making sure his daughter and her husband had a decent place to live.


His handiwork is on display all over Angelina County. One of the last things he wanted to do was ride around town and take pictures of all the houses he had bricked in Lufkin. "I think they ran out of film."


He took a lot of pride in what he did and tried to convey that with me. The job had to be done to his specifications. And that a job done halfway wasn't worth doing. He did little things that made a good job a special job.


One of the more pleasant things he taught me was how to hunt. I was around 23 years old the 1st time he took me with him. We went to Comfort, Texas and I was able to shoot my first buck off of Roberts stand. I shot the first buck that came out and was able to bring him down. I was so proud and couldn't wait to show Bill. When he saw the buck he carried on like it was the biggest buck in the world. I found those antlers years later in his barn. They were small enough to fit on a Chihuahua's head, but he saved them anyway. Over the years we were able to share many hunting trips together. One of the most memorable trips occurred 3 or 4 years ago, when we went Mule Deer hunting on the Mexican Border. It was a free hunt that I had arranged through a business acquaintence of mine. We headed out the Saturday after Thanksgiving and had to drive over 500 miles. The last 20 miles was on unpaved roads that wound around through the mountains. The directions weren't very clear and we got lost ! We drove around for 3 hours, hoping not to run out of gas and trying to find either the campsite or civilization, whichever came first. (Did you know that all mountains look alike when you're lost).


Anyway we found civilization first and had to spend the first night of our big huntin' trip in a motel in Van Horn, Texas. I looked at Bill and could tell that he what he was thinking. "Some Huntin' Trip this turned out to be." The next morning I phoned my friend and we were aable to find the campsite. It was a beautiful place and we both had high hopes. We had several conversations that day about all of the meat we were going to bring home. My friend Phil, had a trailer ready for us with electricity and running water. WHAT A DEAL!


But the deal turned sour a few hours after we got there when the transformer blew. ( We had no electricity all week) I was panicking, but Bill said don't worry, there is plenty of mesquite lying around to build a fire with. We can cook over an open fire and keep ourselves warm.


We began hunting the next morning with no luck. In fact we had no luck for 7 straight hunts. In fact, we didn't see a living thing for 7 straight hunts. I was afraid Bill would use me for target practice for bringing him out there and wasting his time. On our last hunt that trip, he saw several mule deer on top of the mountain we had climbed and he took off after them. He caught up to them but couldn't shoot because does were not legal to shoot in that county.


As we were packing to head home, I began to apoligize for bringing him out there. He stopped me and said that this was one of the best weeks of his life and that he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.


We came home that week with something more important than meat. We came home with a comraderie that few men share. I came home with memories of Bill that I will share with my family for generations to come.


Three months ago I was priviledged to take Bill on one last hunt. We went to Fredricksburg to hunt Axis deer. Neither he or I had ever hunted this exotic deer before and we were both ready for the challenge. If you want to see the results of that hunt, stop by and visit Myrtice sometime and look at the mantle above her fireplace. The results are proudly on display.


As you leave this service today, I ask that you think back on your association with Bill. Whether he was your husband, your father, your grandfather, your brother, your uncle, your friend, or your acquaintance and treasure the memories and good times you were able to spend with him.

"Bill you will be missed"


JAN. 1, 1936-JULY 28, 2006
EULOGY- by Bruce Wade Bearden
Son-in-law