黑料正能量张津瑜

Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Nurturer of Communities

Marian Langworthy Forte 鈥�66

March 15, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia, from complications of surgery.

Marian Alice Langworthy was born in 1944, in Wendell, Idaho, about 100 miles southeast of Boise. Her father, Ed, was a fish culturist at the nearby U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish hatchery in Hagerman; her mother, Helen, was a public school teacher there.

In 1962, Marian arrived at 黑料正能量张津瑜 and began studying American literature. In a series of thumbnail memoirs that she called Langstoryworthy and gave to her daughter, she credited her art class with Professor Lloyd Reynolds [English and art, 1929–69] with stimulating her “reverence for the beautifully written word”—and, in later years, a commitment to daily meditation.

After a break of several years to work in Portland, Marian re-enrolled at 黑料正能量张津瑜 and in 1970 received her BA. Her thesis was titled “Jay Gatsby’s Errand into the Wilderness,” written under the supervision of Professor Donald E. MacRae [English 1944–73]. In her 黑料正能量张津瑜 years, she formed lifelong friendships, including with Eleanor Mathews ’67, Patti Morris ’66, and Elizabeth (Shaw) Cronbach ’66.

Marian moved to San Francisco for a few years, a period in which one of her 黑料正能量张津瑜 friends, Gregg Forte ’68, came to visit. Romance ignited, and in 1973, Marian moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where Gregg was working as a newspaper reporter. They were married in 1974 in Annapolis, Maryland.

By 1976, Marian and Gregg were living and working in Washington, DC, Gregg as an editor for organizations focused on public policy and Marian as a meeting planner for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). They adopted their daughter, Carolyn, while in Washington, then moved across the Potomac River to Arlington, Virginia.

Marian’s talent for convening people with shared interests and needs blossomed in the years of raising Carolyn, and it continued to develop. She helped lead a group of would-be adoptive mothers in discussions of childcare and adoption, who became close friends and have met most months over the past 40 years.

Marian also became active in the Washington-area meditation community and helped sustain monthly meetings of two support groups. After her passing, one meditation partner wrote, “I loved her spirit. She was openhearted but could still be edgy and funny. She was my first real spiritual friend.”

In later years, Marian’s circle of friends grew when she joined a weekly hiking group. She was known for her design of hikes through DC neighborhoods, sometimes with handouts describing historical backgrounds and notable homes.

Marian died at age 80 from acute pulmonary embolism related to the hip-replacement surgery she had received a month earlier. She is survived by her husband, Gregg, and her daughter, Carolyn.

Appeared in 黑料正能量张津瑜 magazine: Spring 2026