Georgie Forney

Georgie Ann Walizer Forney, 73, of Bridgton, passed away at home on March 26, 2013, attended by her family, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

She was born in Lock Haven, Pa. on May 27, 1939 to George and Stella Walizer. She grew up in Lock Haven, Pa., where she developed her lifelong passion for reading and Bible studies.

She graduated from Lock Haven High School (Pennsylvania) in 1957 and from the University of Southern Maine in 1983, consistently on the Dean’s List. She then received her master’s degree in Early Childhood Development from Antioch University. Afterward, she was a devoted kindergarten teacher at the Stevens Brook Elementary School in Bridgton until 2006.

Georgie met her cherished husband Bob (Robert S. Forney Jr.) while they were high school sweethearts, marrying after graduation on Aug. 22, 1957.

Georgie began her career in the Bridgton school district as a study hall monitor, deciding to attend college in 1979, graduating as a teacher in 1982. Georgie loved taking her kids to the school library and sitting in the library teepee reading stories. Georgie could always be found in her classroom with a welcoming smile and was always quick to strike up a conversation. She was a talented, dedicated and beloved teacher, who adored every one of the students that she was fortunate enough to have taught throughout the years. Many times, she would run across her former students and would always delight in hearing about various aspects of their lives. Georgie retired from teaching when she was 66 so that she could spend more time with family and pursue her passions, to include learning to play the piano, which was one of her lifelong dreams. Georgie was very good at, and enjoyed, being a grandmother. She would routinely visit her grandchildren bearing children’s books, along with varieties of gifts that would stimulate and challenge their young minds.  She loved each of them dearly.

She was as attentive as she was kind, as patient as she was compassionate.

Throughout her illness, Georgie was courageous and joyful. When asked about it, she would reply that her faith is where she derived her strength. As her illness progressed, she was truly a source of inspiration for those around her, but would be the first to want to share the source of hers, which was and is, Jesus Christ.

Georgie was an avid hunter and camper when she lived in Caribou, often camping in the Allagash. She could be found frequently fishing streams in Aroostook County or with her kids gazing at the aurora borealis in northern Maine while camping.

Georgie’s parents, George and Stella, as well as her older brother Gerald and older sister Donna Rae, predeceased her.

Georgie is survived by her beloved husband of 55 years, Bob Forney of Bridgton; daughters Barbara Joan DelCamp of Portland and Suzanne Marie Johnson of Largo, Fla.; sons R. Scott Forney III of San Diego, Calif. and George Kenneth Forney of Glen, N.H.; and eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service in celebration of her life will be announced at a later date and held locally.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice, 15 Strawberry Avenue, Lewiston, ME  04240.