 John Forsberg, a man of faith, wit By John H. Adams The Layman Volume 35, Number 5 Posted October 8, 2002 The story of the good Samaritan had a happy ending, with the victim recovering from his trauma and giving his benefactor a generous thank-you.
A retired livestock veterinarian, Forsberg is a Big Sky Presbyterian who has spent many nights under the stars while testing and treating cattle herds and horses. He has enough tales to write a book – which he is doing – but one in particular comes to mind because of its Biblical parallels and heart-warming sequel. Montana’s ranches are huge and the roads and scenery away from the major arteries all look the same. From his pre-retirement home in Forsyth, “You could drive to the Canadian border and run out of gas and not see a soul,” he said. So, as he turned off a road to cross a cattle gate into a 10,000-acre pasture, Forsberg said he was surprised to see a four-wheel drive truck stuck nose down in an artesian well. Forsberg came upon three men who were forlorn and hungry. He said the conversation went something like this: “Do you know where we are?” “Yeah, you’re about three feet down that well.” “Don’t get funny. Where are we?” Witty even in the worst of circumstances, Forsberg grinned and offered help. He’d go fetch a cowboy from the pasture to bring a truck equipped with a winch so that they could get the vehicle out of the well. Then the stranded hunters, saying they had not eaten in three days, asked him if he had anything to eat. Forsberg gave them his survival box that contained canned food, candles and matches (he could burn the candles in his truck for heat if he got caught in a blizzard). A cowboy winched the truck out, led the men to a paved highway so they could get reoriented and returned with Forsberg’s survival box. The food was gone, but there were 12 candles and, at the bottom of the box, $100. That’s Forsberg’s Montana – the fourth largest state in the U.S. in land area, sparsely populated, rugged and home to some of the nicest people on the continent. “It’s a great place to raise kids,” he said, and he and Jane Forsberg raised four of them – Lisa, a teacher in Montana; Leslie, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force; Allyson, credit manager of a hotel in Seattle; and Jonathan, a graduate of the Naval Academy who recently completed medical school and interned at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Forsberg also served in the Navy during the Korean War after graduation from the College of Emporia in Kansas and before he enrolled in Kansas State University, where he received another B.S. degree and his doctor of veterinary medicine degree. Until his retirement, the family lived in Forsyth, a town so small, Forsberg jokes, “We’d go down to the hotel on weekends to see who rented the room.” The veterinary business was a family affair. Jane was the receptionist, nurse and surgical assistant. Forsberg taught the children to help smaller animals deliver their young. He says that’s because his hands are too large – at 6-2, 225 pounds, Forsberg is near his weight when he played college football – until he messed up his knees. He says he doesn’t miss the practice of veterinary medicine. He has been gored by a bull and his back, legs and hips were damaged by the heavy lifting. He’s had two hip replacements, and his golf handicap has risen sharply from a low of two. “Now, when I bend over, I look around and see if there is anything else I can do while I’m down there,” says Forsberg, who was one of the original members of the national Fellowship of Christian Athletes. But his faith hasn’t worn down. Forsberg leads a weekly Bible study every Tuesday. He sings in the choir. He is a long-time elder who has served as a synod moderator and commissioner to a general assembly. And he talks about Jesus in the vernacular of a rugged, faithful Montanan. “A lot of people think Jesus is meek and mild,” he says. “My Jesus had hair on his chest, dirt under his fingernails, and he dared to buck the system. It’s that thinking of my Jesus that has helped me in strengthening my Christian life with my family and my children.” He is convinced that the Presbyterian Church is not going under. “God’s going to get his church back,” he says. “There’s no question about that.” |
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