Rev. Paul J. Forsythe Dies at 103

The Rev. Paul Jones Forsythe, LCDR, USN, Ret., died August 25, 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 103.  He was born on June 16, 1909 in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the fifth of seven children of William Oscar Forsythe and Dora Marguerite Fout Forsythe.

Paul was born on, and grew up on the 800 block of Otsego Street, at a residence which is still in the family. He was captain of Havre de Grace High School’s state champion soccer team in 1926, and was part of the school's Class of 1927.

The first in his family to finish high school or attend college, he was a graduate of the University of Richmond and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

After a year of post-graduate studies toward a doctorate in divinity, he was ordained to preach at the First Baptist Church of Havre de Grace.  He later pastored churches in Kentucky and North Carolina before becoming a U.S. Navy chaplain in 1943.  For the remainder of World War II he was a chaplain with the 6^th Marine Division in the Pacific Theater, including Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Guam, and China.  In 2010 and 2011 he was selected by the City of Jacksonville as honorary grand marshal of the Veterans Day parade because he was the oldest living veteran in the city. Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown proclaimed June 16, 2012 “Chaplain Paul J, Forsythe Day,” citing him as “likely the oldest U.S. Navy chaplain in the country.”

After the war Paul pastored churches in Ashland, Richmond, Smithfield and West Point, all in Virginia. He was the Protestant chaplain in Quito, Ecuador 1963-64 aboard the S.S. Hope, a refitted Navy hospital vessel that became the world’s first peacetime medical ship. He also served as chaplain of a Marine Reserve artillery unit in Richmond, retiring in 1966. His final pastorate was in the Canary Islands 1976-77, replacing a missionary on furlough.

In 1937 Paul married Laura Belle Prevatt of Middleburg, Florida. They retired to Jacksonville in 1977 and were very active members of Southside Baptist Church.  They were instrumental in founding other churches in the area, including Deermeadows Baptist and Fruit Cove Baptist. Paul was one of the founders of Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville (HabiJax), serving on its original board of directors. Florida Times-Union columnist Bob Phelps featured him when he was 80 years old because he still was regularly painting, laying sod and doing other construction tasks at HabiJax houses.

Paul was the last surviving member of his original family in Havre de Grace.  His brothers Jason, Roscoe, Bowyer, Andrew and Frank predeceased him, as did his sister, Dorothy Forsythe Jackson.

Paul’s wife of 67 years died in November 2004.  He is survived by their children, Doralee Forsythe Simko (John) of Jacksonville and Dr. David Prevatt Forsythe (Annette Kovar) of Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition, he is survived by four grandchildren: Lee-Ellen Davidson of Jacksonville; Lindsey Forsythe of Decatur, Georgia; Stewart (Carol) Richardson of Reisterstown, Maryland; and Lauren (Steve) Mullins of Woodstock, Maryland.  His great-grandchildren are Maggie and Jacqueline Davidson, Jessica and Kaelyn Richardson, and Matthew and Bradley Preller.

The family will receive friends from noon to 1 pm on Thursday, August 30 at Southside Baptist Church, 1435 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville. A celebration of Paul’s life will follow in the church sanctuary at 1 pm with Pastor Gary Webber officiating.  Interment with full military honors will occur next to Laura Belle’s grave in the Prevatt section of the Middleburg United Methodist Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Paul requested that contributions be sent to Bangalore Baptist Hospital in India for nursing scholarships, in care of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, P. O. Box 6767, Richmond, VA 23230-0767, or to mission activities of The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation, Inc., 3001 Mercer Drive, Atlanta, GA 30341-4115.

George H. Hewell and Son on University Boulevard in Jacksonville is in charge of arrangements.