Gary Gene Forcey

Gary was the son of the late Frederick Eugene and Rose Millena (Gunther) Forcey. Survived by daughter Cheryl (John) Powers, and two grandchildren, Caitlin and Nathan Powers, all of Tucson, AZ. Gary was born in Sewickley, grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, was a graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School’s class of 1959, and graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1967 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design. He lived, loved, and worked all of his life in the Pittsburgh area. Gary loved Pittsburgh! The Steelers were his absolute favorite sports team and he had season tickets for many years. He also enjoyed watching the Penguins and the Pirates. Golf was Gary’s favorite hobby; he was a member of Shannopin Country Club for many years and had at least five hole-in-ones! His friends and family fondly recalled many of their special memories.

“Gary Forcey and I collaborated on hundreds of marketing communications programs over 40 years when he was with Westinghouse, Challenger, and Eaton. He was unfailingly constructive and creative; a joy to work with. He was also a joy on the golf course, where he unfailingly ‘cleaned my clock’ and collected the spoils. I forgive him.” Said friend and former coworker Peter Geissler.

“I knew Gary for perhaps 30 years both as a client and a friend. When Gary graduated from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) he was offered a position in the buying data department at Pittsburgh based Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Gary took the job, and progressed through the marketing communications ranks throughout his entire professional career. People liked being around Gary because he was fun and he got things done in support of his division’s marketing and sales efforts…Years later, when Westinghouse found itself in financial trouble they started to downsize and when Gary’s number came up, along with thousands of others, he was devastated. Westinghouse was his life. After Westinghouse, Gary tried hard to find a niche position in advertising, sales, customer acquisition and even as a freelancer but none worked out and he rarely brought them up. Gary had Westinghouse stamped on his backside and they let him down. I miss him,” reminisced friend and former client Wesley Smith.

“Gary used to like to race cars on Rt 19 from the old MOOO shop (ice cream and food) for a 1/4 mile. He also was a pretty good pool shooter. As a youngster, he was an excellent artist as well. He was a happy kid and enjoyed drawing.” – lifelong friend Joseph Kiray.