Carlton Forsythe, Jr.

Carlton “Junior” W. Forsythe, Jr., age 88, passed away on March 15, 2025 at Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown.

His service will be private. Arrangements are with French Funeral Home in Gouverneur. Condolences may be shared online at www.frenchfuneralhomes.com.

Carlton was born on May 31, 1936 in Gouverneur to the late Carlton W. Forsythe, Sr. and Mary M. (Wood) Forsythe. He attended Gouverneur Central School and Canton ATC where he studied Penal Law and Criminal Justice.

Junior served in the United States Army’s 3rd Armored Division in Germany, the Elite Artillery Unit and bragged that he once knocked out his Lieutenant. He served from May 31, 1955 until his honorable discharge on May 31, 1958.

He married Beverly Jesmer on January 22, 1956 at the Gouverneur United Methodist Church. The had 68 years of marriage. Junior worked as a DEC Conservation Officer before becoming a NYS Trooper. He retired in 1988 after 25 years of service. He had previously worked for J&L Steel and the Natural Dam Paper Mill. After retirement he worked for Tar Heel Paving.

Junior was an avid deer and coyote hunter, fisherman, and trapper. He was a hunting guide for Bill Farley’s Sunbeam Club and hunted elk and caribou. Junior was a Firearms Instructor for the NYS Troopers in Albany, was a member of the High-Powered Rifle league, a wildlife photographer, and a true artisan who built several street rods. Junior was a perfectionist who built his own house and for others, raced snowmobiles, and played banjo for the Red Rovers blue grass band.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly, his sons, Jeff and Clover Forsythe, Steven and Dawn Forsythe, David and Karen Forsythe, and Carlton Forsythe, III, a sister-in-law, Karen Forsythe, 7 grandchildren, Adriane, Steven Jr., Zachary, Jake, Alexandra, Olivia, and Josiah, and 5 great-grandchildren.

Junior is predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Roy and Carlene Forsythe.

Donations in his memory may be made to the New Bremen Fish and Game Club, C/o Buckingham Hardware, Attn: Jordon, 9801 Main St, Croghan, NY 13327 or the Clifton-Fine Rifle and Pistol Club, C/o UB’s Mercantile, 3386 State Route 3, Oswegatchie, NY 13670.