Forrest Frentress
Marriages
Marilyn Talley - February 1952
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - June 17, 2007
Longtime Hayden resident Forrest Frentress passed away May 23, 2007, after a long winter with a serious stomach operation and a subsequent battle with pancreatic cancer. His wife, children and most of his grandchildren were with him when he passed away at home. He was 84.
He was born Nov. 29, 1922, on the Dawson Ranch and then grew up on the Frentress Ranch west of Hayden. He was the son of Glen and Myrtle Blake Frentress. Forrest started school in Hayden, riding a horse to town and leaving it at the livery barn until it was time to ride it back the three miles to the ranch. He played his trumpet in the high school band, and then his children and some grandchildren played it, too. Forrest enjoyed being on the ranch, seeing and hearing all the wildlife. He acquired a work ethic when he was young, during the Great Depression when times were hard. He had this work ethic all his life and believed that he had a boyhood that $1 million couldn't buy.
He started college at Aggies in Fort Collins and then in spring 1943, he volunteered for the U.S. Army. He and three or four others were sent from basic training to Alabama University to take a battery of tests. He was sent then to Manhattan College in New York. He was in U.S. Army specialized training. He then got orders to go to the 69th Infantry at Camp Shelby, Miss.
Forrest served in the European Theater of World War II, and his division linked up with the Russians in Germany to end the war. After the war, he had a chance to go on an agricultural tour in Scotland, and he always wanted to go back. He was one of the "Greatest Generation." After coming home, he went back to college at Colorado State University and got a degree in agronomy.
Forrest met Marilyn Talley, and they were married in February 1952. They had three children, Christine and her husband, Charlie Epp, who live near Hayden; Talley and her husband, Larry Hickman, of Lucas, Kan.; and Kurt and his wife, Vonnie Frentress, who live on the ranch near Hayden.
Forrest served on the Hayden School Board for 14 years. He was a member of the Hayden Congregational Church and had served as moderator and on other church boards. He and his wife belonged to the Routt County Farm Bureau, of which he was president several times and served on the state organization's Board of Directors. In 1998, he received the organization's highest award, the Service to Agriculture Award. He was a member of Benjamin J. Hoffstetter American Legion Post No. 89 and served as commander. He was a member of the Routt County Weed Board and retired in 2005. He was a proactive fighter of noxious weeds, trying to control them and keeping them from "taking the West." He was a member of his 69th Infantry Division's Organization and went to their reunions when it didn't conflict with his farming. He and Marilyn went to Europe with the group twice and met with the Russians who had linked up with the American forces in Germany at the Elbe River. They went on to Moscow, where they were hosted by the Russians. This was the 69th Infantry Division's 50th reunion.
In 1992, he and Marilyn built a house in Hayden where they have a beautiful view of the mountains. The move was hard on Forrest because he missed the ranch and the geese honking on the river. In semi-retirement, he was interested in town affairs. He was an avid book reader all his life.
He is preceded in death by his parents, a brother and a sister.
Forrest is survived by his wife; his three children; 10 grandchildren; six cousins; two nieces; and three nephews.
Memorial services were May 29, 2007, at Hayden Congregational Church with Pastor Janet Babish officiating. Internment was in the Hayden Cemetery with military honors by the American Legion. Memorial donations can be made to the Hayden Congregational Church or Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice in care of Grant Mortuary, 621 Yampa Ave., Craig, CO 81625.
