OBITUARY
Longtime resident Robert Edward “Butch” Forbess II died Sunday,
July 16, from cardiopulmonary complications. He was 54.
Mr. Forbess was born July 26, 1945, in Detroit, Mich., to Robert
Edward and Wanda Lee Forbess. Shortly after, he moved with his family to
the Newport-Mesa area, where he was raised.
He graduated from Costa Mesa High School in 1963 and followed his
father into the carpentry and construction trades.
It was in his youth that Mr. Forbess, who was known as “Butch,”
acquired his lifelong love of open roads and spaces from his maternal
grandfather, Burl Chase, who ran a fruit and vegetable stand at the
corner of Bristol Street and Newport Boulevard.
He and his grandfather often went on long hauls to Texas, Oklahoma,
Arizona and the San Joaquin Valley to buy produce for sale.
Through the years, “Butch” provided much support for his family and
friends. Mr. Forbess, who will long be remembered for his
handlebar-mustachioed smile, could always be counted on to lend a helping
hand, an empty bed or a needed tool. And he seemed to have them all.
Family members say he had a “heart as big as Costa Mesa and a smile as
wide as Harbor Boulevard,” and anyone who knew him loved him.
A longtime member of the original Zubie’s Gang, “Butch” did much of
the work for multiple restaurants and many of the regulars were counted
among his close friends.
As a carpenter, he could frame a house or build a spiral oak
staircase, remodel a kitchen or construct an ornate fireplace mantel.
Basically, he could do it all and did it well.
He also enjoyed working on and driving his bright orange 1924 Ford
Phaeton T-bucket hot rod. He liked dove hunting, Vegas trips and going to
the Colorado River with family and friends.
His illness was discovered after he sought treatment at Hoag Hospital
for rib pain and shortness of breath. He was hospitalized June 29 with
cardiopulmonary problems.
Two days later, he suffered a cardiac arrest and although he was
resuscitated, he slipped into a coma for 15 days before he passed away.
He is survived by his father, Robert Edward Forbess of Costa Mesa;
sisters Bonnie Langseth and her husband, Richard, and Brenda Chandler and
her husband, Donald, all of Costa Mesa, and Sheila Forbess of Mission
Viejo; five nieces and nephews, Ms. Tami McCalla of Las Vegas, Tonya
Collier of Orange, Ronald Nugent of Costa Mesa, Jeffrey Nugent of Irvine
and John Nugent of Myrtle Beach; 11 grand nieces and nephews and numerous
friends.
Pierce Brothers Bell-Broadway Funeral Home of Costa Mesa handled the
cremation ceremony. The family requests that donations in his memory be
made to Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
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