Allan W. "Micky" Forbes Sr.

LANCASTER – Allan W. “Micky” Forbes Sr., 87, died Monday, January 29, 2024, surrounded by family at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon NH.

Micky was born in Lancaster on April 5, 1936, the son of Seth and Edna (Whitcomb) Forbes. He was a lifetime resident of Lancaster and third generation owner and operator of the Forbes Farm Partnership on North Road. He worked his entire life as a dairy farmer, until a few years ago he was still operating a bulldozer or excavator daily on the farm. When not doing that, he was running for parts all over northern New Hampshire and Vermont. Days before his passing he was actively keeping an eye on the day-to-day operations, driving around the farm in his side-by-side with his faithful poodle.

On August 2, 1958, he married Judith Hurlbert. The two of them purchased the family farm from Micky’s parents and ran the farm with their two sons. Over 50 years later the farm is now in the fifth generation of ownership, milking 1,200 head of cattle three-times a day and managing over 4,000 acres of farmland to harvest corn and grass silage.

When he wasn’t farming, Micky enjoyed auctions, the Lancaster and Fryeburg Fairs, long rides to visit other farms, annual fishing trips in Canada, and visiting his grandson Mitch as he was making his favorite sweet condiment, maple syrup, and working as chief taste tester. He had a knack for meeting people and loved to visit. In his later years he and Judy wintered in Deland, Florida where they hosted their children and grandchildren on family vacations each year. Micky was a longtime member of the Farm Bureau. He became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1975 and was well loved by the local congregation. He loved reflecting on the work he had done plowing as a young man and assisting in building the Mt. Washington Auto Road. In the most recent years, he became well known to his great-grandchildren as “Whoopie”, a name descending from his regular tune he sang to them, and always made sure to comment how tall they had gotten no matter how recently he had seen them.

Surviving family members include his three children, son Allan Forbes Jr., and his wife Tammy, daughter Diane Goedecke and her husband John, son Scott Forbes and his wife Marie; a brother Richard “Dick” Forbes; five grandchildren, Isaac Forbes and his wife Cait, Heather Forbes and partner Ernest Griesman, Chelsey Goedecke, Michelle McVetty and her husband Eric, and Mitchell Forbes and his wife Hannah; nine great-grandchildren; as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Judy, in 2017, after 59 years of marriage, a brother Paul Forbes and a sister Susan Lamadeleine.

A funeral service will be held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses on Saturday April 13th, 2024, at 11:30 am, followed by a gathering with family and friends at Forbes Farm.