Jack Forney ’35 is a busy man. At 81, he still goes to work every day, enjoys giving back to his community and has fond memories of Phi Kappa Sigma. He still tries to stay in contact with fraternity brothers. Jack says, “Although there is hardly anybody left, I still stay in contact with George Harvey ’35 who lives in State College and Joe Thomas ’35 who is in Florida.”
Family, Service and Clowns – yes clowns – are high on Jack Forney’s (’35) Priorities
Jack Forney ’35 is a busy man. At 81, he still goes to work every day, enjoys giving back to his community and has fond memories of Phi Kappa Sigma. He still tries to stay in contact with fraternity brothers. Jack says, “Although there is hardly anybody left, I still stay in contact with George Harvey ’35 who lives in State College and Joe Thomas ’35 who is in Florida.”
A side that not everyone knows about Jack is his interest in clowns. “I’ve never tried to be a clown,” he says. “But, I do have a collection of clown pictures, figures and memorabilia.” These items are displayed throughout both his home and office. Maybe his clown interest was inspired by some of his activities with PKS.
Jack joined the fraternity in September 1931. “I planned on joining a fraternity with Henry Warren ’34 and George Harvey ’35. It was a toss up between BTP and Phi Kappa Sigma. PKS won,” Jack says with a smile. He has plenty of great memories of fraternity days including the annual snowball fight with the Kappa Sigs. “We tried to see how many windows we could break,” Jack says. He adds, “We were successful.”
Jack also remembers the fraternity men were very friendly with the KKGs. “We had chaperons for dances. My parents were chaperons sometimes,” Jack says. He adds that the girls stayed on the second floor and the boys moved to the third floor, and with a wink, remembers that there was a back stairway!
Jack lived in the fraternity house with Bud (Vernon) Platt ’35 and George Harvey ’35. Roommate experiences included fishing, campus politics and a certain paddling received for late night activities. In addition to chapter activities, Jack was president of the Thespian Club and managed the fencing team.
Since his college days, Jack has been influenced by PKS. “The fraternity made me socially aware of getting along with people and understanding other philosophies,” he says. “We had a well-rounded group and I learned a lot from the different people because of their cultural backgrounds.”
Now, Jack is a realtor. He was named Realtor of the Year in 1981 by the Lake County Association of Realtors. Outside of work, Jack spends time fundraising for the Boy Scouts. He was awarded the Silver Beaver in 1971, one of Boy Scouting’s highest adult honors. He is also a member of the Order of the Arrow, a Boy Scout service organization.
Jack has also been busy in community activities. He was a two-term Libertyville village trustee and spent 21 years on the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. His list of community service includes David Adler Memorial Park founding member, former chairman of the Lake County Safety Commission, president of the Libertyville-Mundelein-Vernon Hills Chamber of Commerce, Lake County Economic Development Commission, chairman of the Central Lake County YMCA and president of the Libertyville Rotary Club where he is a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship.
Jack has a daughter in Sarasota, FL and two grandchildren. The granddaughter is in Tampa and the grandson is in Portland in the wine business. Both have baby girls so Jack is a proud great-grandparent and planning a trip to Portland soon.
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