John Forbes, icon of Father Duenas Memorial School, dies at 88

The man who helped mold the minds of thousands of Father Duenas Memorial School students - John Dennis Forbes, died on March 1. He was 88.

Considered a school icon and even living legend long before he retired from teaching in 1994, Forbes started his teaching career at the all-boys school in 1959. He retired in 1994 after 35 years of service and during that time taught under 15 different school principals.

His first subjects were general science, world history, English IV and Problems in American Democracy. He was also the school college guidance counselor for many years.

His students over the decades have similar stories about his teaching methods and class habits. He would often be a student's first introduction to college-style instruction. He would bring in the appropriate textbook for the class, leave it on the desk and lecture while slowly pacing the front of the room.

"Sit down and shut up!" he'd say, entering a noisy class. On quiz days, Fridays, he'd add, "One to five, one to five," telling students to number their answers. It was imperative to take good notes as he'd allow them for exams.

He was incredibly smart, said Dennis Borja, a 1986 FD graduate.

"We were often tickled pink to pick the most difficult Trivial Pursuit questions to try to stump the man," said Borja. "We never could. In fact, he often pointed out errors in the answers."

Forbes wore the same outfit to class, every day - a white polo and black slacks. Forbes was tall and barrel-chested, and he walked with a laser-focused, confident stride. He wore prescription sunglasses in class, making it difficult for students to goof around. He had a deep, Sean Connery-like baritone voice that could both amplify a simple compliment or warning of impending doom if a student acted immaturely. He did not speak to underclassmen unless it was absolutely necessary.

Many students said his courses were interwoven with life lessons. He was big on getting students into college and would spend part of an upperclassman's year working on practice tests for the SAT and ASVAB. He said he would never fail a student, but anyone who got a 70 on their report card knew it should have been lower.

Forbes was married to the late Rosalind Marie Limtiaco, and he had three FD alumni sons plus an alumni grandson: Fomer legislative Speaker Mark Forbes, class of '71 who is the father of Sean Forbes, class of 2011; the late Carl Forbes, '76 and Pale Eric Forbes, '80 

Forbes continued to volunteer his time at the school after his retirement, and would always make time to chat with any alumnus.

Ismael Perez, who graduated in Forbes' final teaching year, was also Forbes' assistant for the last decade.

"He was no-nonsense but full of great stories and anecdotes. His history classes took on a very practical approach no matter the topic or time period," he said. "As a college counselor, he worked with so many students to get them into the best school they were willing to get into.  His college advising practices were used well past the time when he stopped actually advising students," said Perez. "He built great friendships with many of the faculty who have been here over the years even though he was a private person. He allowed me to accompany him when he traveled and he showed me how to travel well all over Manila, Israel, and Spain. For him, travel was more than getting to a destination. It was the entire experience from booking a ticket to getting back home with nothing more than a backpack. He will be truly missed.

Eddie Pelkey, president of the FD Alumni Association, joined Friars around the world in mourning the loss of a legend.

"Mr. Forbes was a pillar in the FD community. He gave so much of himself to help our students find the man in them. He taught us to stand up for others who couldn't, to listen in order to solve real problems, and to see the world for what it truly is," he said. "He educated us, and we didn't even know he was doing so. He is the epitome of what a true Duenas man really is."

Fr. Eric Forbes said that he will remember his father most by his sense of duty.

"One of his sayings was, 'Yours is not to question why. Yours is to do or die.' He almost never missed a day of teaching, even if he was not feeling well. I once asked him why he never left Father Duenas to teach in DOE for higher pay. His reply was, "Do you think I have no loyalty?"

John Forbes joined the U.S. Air Force right out of high school, said Eric Forbes, and that led to his planting family roots on Guam.

"He enlisted in 1950 right after graduating from high school in Peoria, Illinois, because the Korean War had just started and he preferred to serve in the Air Force than be drafted in another branch. He came to Guam in 1953 as he was assigned to Andersen AFB. He met my mother at the wedding fandango of Fred and Ding Bamba in Agana Heights and it was love at first sight," said Eric Forbes. "They married later that same year at St Jude Church. He was soon reassigned to Mitchell AFB in Long Island, NY. Since he was in New York when the Korean War ended and he was honorably discharged, he used the GI Bill to begin college studies at Columbia College, the undergraduate college of Columbia University in New York City. Mid-college he switched to San Francisco State University where he obtained his BA in History. In the 1980s he obtained an MA in History from the University of Guam.":

John Forbes was also an avid tennis player and played every day he could until his knees finally gave out. That was just one of the many things he wasn't as well known for.

"He was an avid traveler and had a small acting part, but mainly worked as a crew member, in the first full feature movie filmed on Guam, "Noon Sunday," in 1970," said Eric Forbes. "He minored in Russian in college and was famous for going out to speak in Russian to Soviet vessels offshore on Guam in the 1970s. He went to Russia so many times in the 1970s that after several visits he was told by a Russian agent not to come back anymore."

Eric Forbes said that a proper tribute for his father at FD will be announced at a later date when all COVID-19 restrictions are removed

Reporter Jojo Santo Tomas is a former student of John Forbes, and a 1987 graduate of Father Duenas Memorial School.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: John Forbes, icon of Father Duenas Memorial School, dies at 88