Forest Muir Obituary

WOOSTER, Ohio - Dr. Forest V. Muir, 85, of Wooster, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, at LifeCare Hospice in Wooster, with his family by his side.

Forest was born on Nov. 26, 1939, to the late Everett and Jessie (nee Baker) Muir in West Frankfort.

He attended a one room school from 1st grade to 8th grade. He graduated from Johnston City High School in 1957, where he was very active in FFA and 4-H.

Forest received his B.S. in Agriculture and a Masters of Science in Poultry from Southern Illinois University in 1961 and 1963 respectively. In 1967 he received his doctoral degree in Poultry Genetics from The Ohio State University.

Forest married the former Karen Ewan on June 17, 1961. She preceded him in death on April 30, 2005.

Forest started working at the University of Maine as assistant professor in the Animal Science Department in 1968. His primary responsibility was in outreach education with poultry producers throughout the state. He was also involved in poultry management research. In 1972 he was promoted to associate professor.

In June of 1980 he accepted the position of extension poultry specialist at Penn State University. His work there involved poultry education and poultry management courses. He had an active program in introducing micro computers to the poultry industry. While at Penn State, Forest was promoted to full professor in 1986.

In Aug. 1990, Forest was appointed chair of The Department of Poultry Science at The Ohio State University. A position he held until July 1994 when the College of Agriculture reorganized and he became associate chair of the combined Animal Sciences Department and relocated to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, Ohio. In 1999 he became assistant to the director of OARDC being responsible for special projects, a position he held until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2001.

Forest was an active member of the Jeromesville Lions Club. He attended Grace Church in Wooster.

During his retirement he enjoyed gardening, restoring vintage motorcycles and a 1957 Thunderbird. He also enjoyed golfing, where he had five holes-in-one. He traveled and spent time with family in Oklahoma and Illinois, often dirt biking, sight-seeing and riding four wheelers.

Forest married Georgia (nee Shultz) Miller on Dec. 5, 2009, they enjoyed spending winters in Florida, and spending time with their family and being Papa to Reagan and Peyton.

Forest will be deeply missed by his wife, Georgia; his sisters; Mildred Becker of Oklahoma, Donna Mallory of Illinois, JayLynn Grant of Illinois; nieces and nephews, Lena, Earla, Sherri, Penny, Randy, Zena, Trisha, Dawn and Everett; great-nieces and nephews and family, Mindy (late Greg) Roberts, Lisa (Doug) Wilcoxson, Greg (Amy) Miller; grandchildren, Ashley (Colin) Saffle, Lindsey (Seth) Roberts-Gasche, Samantha (Justin) Kornhaus, Josh and CJ Miller, Isaac (Katlin) Wilcoxson and Abigail Wilcoxson; great grandchildren Reagan and Peyton Gasche.

In addition to his parents and wife, Karen, he was preceded in death by his brother, Earl Muir; and brothers-in-law, Mickey Grant and Randel Becker.

Private graveside services will be at Tower Heights Cemetery in Illinois, at a later date. A Celebration of Life will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, in Grace Church, 4599 Burbank Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691, with Randy Moomaw officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to LifeCare Hospice, 1900 Akron Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691, and Grace Church, for NEXT, 4599 Burbank Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691.

Online condolences may be shared at denbowfh.com.

The family would like to thank LifeCare Hospice for their excellent care.

Denbow-Gasche Funeral Home and Crematory is honored to be serving Forest's family.