Robert Pearch Forrest

Robert P. Forrest, age 97, of 11303 Pink Blossom Court, Orlando, Florida, passed away on February 6, 2024. He was known as Robert, or Bob to his friends and family. He previously resided at 54 Gate Ridge Road, Easton, Connecticut from 1962-2023 in a home which he had designed. Born in Stamford, Connecticut on August 22, 1926, he lived most of his life in Fairfield County. His father was Judge Wilfred P. Forrest, and his mother was Dorothy P. Forrest, a concert pianist with Silvermine School of Music. Wilfred's family lived for three generations at 54 Marshall Ridge Rd, New Canaan. Dorothy came to the U.S. through Ellis Island, as a bride from England. They met while Wilfred attended Oxford University.

Robert attended Holmes Avenue Elementary School, Darien High School, and Lawrenceville Preparatory School before graduating with a BSME from George Washington University in Washington D.C. He was married and widowed twice. His wives were Shirley Erickson from 1949-1974, and Lina Pretell from 1976-2022.

Robert was a Design Engineer. His career centered upon the aerospace industry. He worked on various, classified, government projects such as the Lunar Module (LEM) for the Apollo Space program, the Atlas and Titan Missile systems, helicopter and armament systems, and optical technology. He contracted with Grumman, MacDonald-Douglas, Perkin-Elmer, Sikorsky, ARDE Engineering, and Comprehensive Designers, Inc. He also worked with his family as VP of sales with Dredgeast , and was a Corporate Officer of J.W. Jenkins.

Robert was a Mason, as was his father. He was "raised" in Masonic Lodge #107 in 1948. He belonged to the American Legion #16. Robert was a veteran of World War II, having served on the U.S.S. Mount McKinley, a communications command ship, as Radioman, third class from 1944-1946. He earned the Asiatic Pacific Medal, Occupation, American Theater Medal, and Victory Medal.

In his earlier life, he boxed, swam, and was a member of the Rifle Club. In his later years, he loved to watch and feed the birds in the back yard in Easton, Ct., and took a particularly detailed approach to planting trees and shrubs.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Richard, his sister, Joan, his nephew, James, and his son, Donald, as well as his wives and parents. He lived a long life.

He is survived by his daughter, Diane Rein Forrest, his grandchildren, Nathan, Tiffany, and Luke Lindsey, and his great grand-children, Taknowah and Tenschwa Lewis.

Funeral arrangements are two-fold. He will have a visitation and service in Orlando, Florida on February 12, 2024 at Newcomer Funeral Home, 895 S. Goldenrod Avenue, E. Orlando with visitation from 4-6 (Military honors at 4:30) and service starting at 6:00. Then his body will be shipped to New Canaan, where there will be a Masonic service at Hoyt Funeral Home in New Canaan, Connecticut, on February 16, before burial in a family plot at Lakeview Cemetery, joining four generations of the Forrest family.

Click to view the livestream of Robert's service starting at 5:55 PM, Monday, February 12, 2024.

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