Patsy Forte’s great-granddaughter passes away at age 32

Amy Forte, 32, granddaughter of Michael Forte, Class of 1952, and great-granddaughter of the late Monongah drug store owner Patsy Forte, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 3 in Greensburg Pennsylvania of breast cancer. 

Amy was an advocate for women, children and animals.

Amy’s father is Patrick Forte by her mom’s earlier marriage.

Michael, son of Monongah drug store owner Patsy Forte and Mary Romino Forte, passed away in 2008.  

Michael’s sister is Mary Jo Forte Richards, Class of 1948, of Las Vegas, Nevada, who provided piano accompaniment for Leatrice Yokay Greaser, Class of 1950, on their Fairmont WMMS radio show in the 1950s.

Michael’s son, also named Michael, lives in Morgantown with wife Shari Forte II. He owns the original Boston Beanery restaurant on High Street, and others on Patteson Drive and at the Pines Country Club, all in Morgantown. There are eight Boston Beanery locations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Boston Beanery was Patsy Forte son Michael’s 1983 brainchild, patterned after the Boston pubs of the 1800s. 

Ken Cole is CEO of the BB franchise. Other Boston Beanery locations are in Tygart Lake Lodge, Grafton; Mall Run Road, Uniontown, Pennsylvania; Lee Jackson Highway, Staunton, Virginia; and Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Another of papa Michael Forte’s sons, Dr. Patrick Forte, lives in Pittsburgh. 

Michael’s other granddaughter, April Forte, lives in Bluefield, Virginia.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article about Amy Forte:

Attorney strong voice for women, kids

By Kari Andren

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

From the time Amy Forte was a young girl, she marched to the beat of her own drum, family members said.

Amy Forte

When other girls worried about the latest styles and fashions, Ms. Forte chose Gap boys fit blue jeans and Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts to wear to school almost every day, said her mother, Christine Hammond.

“She always was very unique and she, even when very young, had strong convictions about helping children, women and animals,” Hammond said. “She was just into her own stuff. She was someone who had her own beliefs and own opinions and convictions, sometimes very different from ours.”

Amy Elizabeth Forte of Greensburg died Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, from breast cancer that spread to her bones. She was 32.

Upon graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, W.Va., in 2000, Ms. Forte earned a psychology degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 and graduated from Louis Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in Kentucky in 2006.

She worked for a Greensburg law firm.

Ms. Forte could read well by 3 and continued to read avidly while she was ill. She bought a Hallmark recordable storybook and recorded herself reading the story for her niece, Carmen, so she'd have a memory of her aunt, Christine Hammond said.

Ms. Forte loved country music and sweets, especially such combinations as chocolate cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter, said Rob Hammond, her stepfather. 

One of her last social outings was a family trip to the Luke Bryan concert at Heinz Field in June, Rob Hammond said.

“She was so brave and so strong. She had cancer for four years,” he said. “She'll always be remembered and always be with us in many ways. Her favorite color was purple, so obviously any time we see the color purple, we're going to think of Amy.”

In addition to the Hammonds, Ms. Forte is survived by her father, Patrick Forte; sister, April Gamallo, her husband Chris and their daughter, Carmen; stepbrothers John Hammond and wife Alisha, and Seth Hammond and wife Cristina; grandmother Joann Boram; uncles Michael Forte and Michael Boram; and aunts Wilsie Boram, Jennifer Edens and Shari Forte.

Family and friends will be received from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday in Barnhart Funeral Home, 505 E. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. in the funeral home.

The 2008 obituary about Michael Forte:

Michael Joseph Forte Sr., 74, of Fairmont, died Thursday morning (Nov. 6, 2008) at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

He was born on July 7, 1934, in Fairmont, son of the late Patsy D. and Mary Romino Forte.

He retired as a juvenile probation officer in Marion County after 25 years and after that did accounting and tax preparation for several years.

He also retired from the Army National Guard as a Master Sergeant and served in the 249th Army National Guard Band.

He was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Marian council No. 942.

Michael attended Monongah Middle School and graduated from Monongah High School and graduated in 1955 from Fairmont State College.

He is survived by two sons and one daughter-in-law, Michael and Shari Forte II of Morgantown and Dr. Patrick Forte of Pittsburgh; and two grandchildren, Amy Forte of Greensburg, Pa. and April Forte of Bluefield, Va. He is also survived by one sister, Mary Jo Richards of Las Vegas, Nev.

In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Gloria A. Guido Forte on Feb. 9, 2004.

Friends may call at the Ross Funeral Home, 801 Fairmont Ave., Fairmont from 1-9 p.m. today. A vigil service will be held at 7:30 p.m. today at the funeral home. Visitation will continue from 9-10 a.m. on Saturday at the Immaculate Conception Church on Maryland Avenue. Everyone is asked to please meet at the church. Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church with Fr. Patsy Iaquinta as Celebrant. Interment will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

If you have memories of the Fort family, or the Patsy Forte drug store in the center of the Monongah business district, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com and I’ll add them to this Monongah High Alumni blog.