Mary Kathleen “Kathy” Forgey of Chesterton died Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010, at
her second home in Ft. Myers, Fla., from complications of breast cancer. She
was 55.
She was born July 18, 1955 in Kankakee, Ill., to George and Shirley
Helopoulos. She was a graduate of Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School
in 1973 and attended Kankakee College, where she earned an Associate of
Science degree in Radiologic Technology in 1975. She earned her Bachelor of
Science degree in Cultural Anthropology in 1995 from Indiana University
Northwest, her MA of Anthropology in 1997, and her PhD of Anthropology in
2006, both from University of Illinois Chicago. She was a Biological
Anthropologist and Research Associate with the Field Museum in Chicago and a
member of the regional DMORT (disaster mortuary operational response team).
Kathy married Ken Forgey on April 17, 1976. The couple lived in Bourbonnais,
Centralia, Frankfort, and Mt. Vernon, all in Illinois, finally settling in
Chesterton. Along the way, while raising four children, Kathy also
experienced careers in real estate, stained glass making, doctors assistant,
and field schools in Peru. She was a devoted wife, mother, and professor of
anthropology at several universities in the Chicago and Indiana area.
Kathy was proud of her pioneering research in the field of ancient DNA and
conducted several archaeological field trips to Peru. She was diagnosed with
breast cancer in 2006 and had been undergoing extensive treatment at the
time of her death.
Kathy is survived by her husband, Ken Forgey; children Ben, Dan, Krista, and
David; and grandchildren Reese and Benjamin, children of Ben Forgey; father
George Helopoulos, of Bourbonnais; brother Chris Helopoulos of Seminole,
Fla.; sister Jenny Goselin, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; and brothers Dino
Helopoulos, of Bonfield, Ill. and Andy Helopoulos of Los Angeles, Calif.
Kathy was preceded in death by her mother, Shirley Helopoulos, who also died
of complications of breast cancer.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggest remembrances be sent to the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation for the cure of breast cancer. A
memorial service to celebrate her life will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on
Nov. 21 at the Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton.
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