Obituary: Douglas Forte
December 3, 1944 – July 24, 2023
The world has lost one of the best. On July 24th, at 78 years of age, Doug Forte passed away while on vacation in Maui. Doug was a 41 year resident of South Lake Tahoe. For the last four years he had been living in Green Valley, AZ where he lived with his wife Mary and dog Lola.
Doug was born in Ohio on December 3, 1944, but spent most of his adolescent years in Tucson, Arizona. He moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1971. During his first year in Tahoe he met Daphne, while working as a security guard at Harvey’s. They soon married and briefly moved to Chico where Doug earned a teaching credential at Chico State University. After returning to Tahoe, both he and Daphne were hired as teachers at Bijou Elementary by longtime friend and neighbor, Walt Currier. This would be the start of a 31 year career working as a teacher and administrator for Lake Tahoe Unified School District. In 1975 & 1976 Doug and Daphne’s two sons, Josh and Chad, were born.
Doug’s passion for teaching is known by all those who either had him as their teacher or worked with him along the way. There are countless stories of good times had by students and many funny stories shared by fellow teachers. For years he drove a red ’79 Ford truck that became synonymous with his big personality. Many students remember his motivational tactics to encourage reading at the Sierra House Elementary read-a-thon. Should the goal for pages be met or exceeded, Doug would move his office onto the roof of the school for a day and the top readers were invited to join him for lunch there. He will also be remembered for taking classes of 6th graders boat camping in Emerald Bay and telling scary stories around the campfire.
In addition to teaching, Doug’s other passion as a younger man, was playing softball. In 1980 he joined Sports Concern where he would play as pitcher for the next 20 years. Many will remember Doug as a fierce competitor on the field. The team became a secondary family to Josh & Chad and the source of many lifelong friendships. This second family was forged through the seasons of league play and the summer trips for tournaments around northern California & northern Nevada.
In Doug’s 78 years on this planet, he embodied the most important traits of the human existence: Honesty. Loyalty. Integrity. Compassion. Kindness. Love.
While Doug’s very direct style of communication was a put off to some, most came to love him for it and knew that deep down he was a kid at heart…always joking and laughing. He will be deeply missed by those who knew him.
A celebration of life will be held outdoors at Paradise Park in Meyers, CA on September 9th at 10:00 AM. All interested in attending are welcome. Parking is limited so please carpool if you can. Most of the space will be standing room, with a limited number of chairs for the elderly. Please feel free to bring a lawn chair if you’d like to be guaranteed a seat.
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