Patricia Morrissey Murphy Forbes, formerly of Westhampton Beach and married to the late Kenneth P. Forbes, former co-publisher of The Riverhead News Review, died on August 7 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She was 81 and the stepmother of former East End U.S. representative Michael P. Forbes.
Born in Forest Hills, New York, on March 16, 1934, to Raymond L. and Helena M. Morrissey, she was the youngest of three daughters. Her sisters, Suzanne and Jane, predeceased her. Her father was an executive with the Ford Motor Company.
Ms. Forbes grew up in Queens and in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where she attended Catholic schools. Her first marriage to John Murphy ended in divorce.
Her second husband, Ken, began his career in acting, a passion shared by young Ms. Forbes. She caught the attention of legendary actress Julie Harris, who sponsored her for The Actors Studio. Motown’s Barry Gordy had hopes she might pursue a career as a singer, but her love of family and her children took precedence.
Ms. Forbes had a passion for the visual arts. Favorite subjects included John Lennon and Rasputin, of whom she did a drawing for Juilliard artistic director Frank Corsaro. Her work includes the program art of a September 2001 production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Before Breakfast” in Lower Manhattan.
Her artistic sense extended to her prolific crocheting of richly colored afghans that she regarded as large canvases. She made gifts of them to the homeless and to family, who treasure them as keepsakes of her abiding warmth.
All her life, Ms. Forbes was a devout, practicing Roman Catholic. She was professed as a Third Order Carmelite and she called Saint Leo Catholic Church in Lancaster her spiritual home.
She is survived by her children, Caroline “Casey” Forbes and wife Melissa Budney, Jay, Christopher, Todd, Stephen and Noel Murphy; stepchildren, Michael, Ken Jr., and Jill Forbes Stubbs; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her cat, Ollie, gave her special joy and companionship.
A funeral Mass was held on August 12 at Saint Leo’s Church, following by burial at Saint Joseph’s New Catholic Cemetery in Lancaster.
Memorial donations may be made to a local public library.
on Aug 10, 2015