Joan Christine Forsyth, who had lived some 40 years in Guadalajara, died unexpectedly in a hospital on December 20 after a short illness following hip replacement surgery. She was 78. She was the widow of Avard Forsyth who died here in 2000. In recent years, Joan was very involved at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, where she served on the vestry, and did cooking and fund raising projects.
Forsyth was a regular swimmer and had been planning to compete in a masters swimming meet next year. She was also an avid reader, and an excellent cook and jewelry maker. She attended meetings of a British social club, loved cats, and socialized with many friends who found her a private, talented, caring and giving person, and will miss her.
Forsyth was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Bessie and John MacQuarrie. After 1956, when she married Avard, who was 20 years her senior, he began to think about retiring to a warm place, so the family moved to Florida for about five years, before trying Guadalajara in 1972.
Forsyth came and went a bit to and from Guadalajara, but she settled in, attending St. Mark’s and helping found the Readers Book Club that meets there. One of her children, Avril Forsyth, attended medical school here before becoming a doctor. Avril lives here, while Joan’s son John Forsyth lives in Austin, Texas, and another daughter, Tina Baigent, lives in Long Island, New York.
Besides her three children, Forsyth is survived by two brothers, Donald and David MacQuarrie, by four grandchildren (Michelle Arreola, Roberto Arreola, Christopher Forsyth and Laura Forsyth) and by one great-granddaughter, Andrea Morató.
A memorial Mass was held December 27 at St. Mark’s and Forsyth’s ashes were placed in the Peace Garden there.