Obituary of Cleveland C Forde

Life’s Reflection A time to be born, a time to die. On March 26, 1931, Cleveland Cleophas Forde was born to the late Daisy Forde and Allen Greaves on the isle of St. Andrew in Barbados. He was the 9th child of 11 children (6 boys and 5 girls) and at the age of 92, sadly and unexpectedly entered into rest on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. A time to plant and a time to pull up plants. In his teen years Cleveland worked after school at his brother’s grocery store and at the age of twenty, left the island for contract work in the US. The first stop, the Midwest, where he picked green peas behind a tractor. After his three-week assignment and what would be one of many fruit and farm produce jobs, Cleveland was off to Florida to the celery factory. Soon after his arrival, a co-worker had her eyes on him for her daughter, Maude. Cleve and Maude eventually met and he followed her to the Rochester, NY are (Sodas) to work on an apple orchid where he also met his life long friend, the late Robert Pusey. Cleveland and Maude Paul married in 1952 and made Rochester their home. After her death, Cleveland later me Norma and this relation a son, Clayton, was born. A time to kill and a time to heal. Tired of the crop picking business, Cleve sought employment at Kee Lox, a large ribbon and carbon paper manufacturing company where he moved pallets of paper and advanced to head of the department. It was there he was introduced to, as one radio announcer puts it, “slendah, tendah, whoo, she so tall”, Ann. By the help of Anne Dixson and Margaret Earle, their date nights entailed bible studies and attending the Joe Crews crusade where they both grew to know and love the second coming message of Jesus Christ. Together they accepted the message and were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church on May 27, 1971. One month later, they married, June 17, 1971. To this union, one son was born, Clifton, and gained two daughters, Robin and Carolyn. There is a time to destroy and a time to build. Economy was down and so was employment for the newly married Cleveland and his new bride and three children. After years with Kee Lox, he was unemployed. He worked odd-end jobs to keep up with his new role as husband and father and after two weeks of Kee Lox closing, as he often stated, “the Lord had his hand in it. His good friend and former Kee Lox co- worker, Lucian Morin, was newly elected County Manager, (presently known as County Executive) for the county of Monroe and immediately offered him a position. This position was with the county of Monroe in Rochester, NY and as an inspector for Weights and Measures. HE made sure the scales were calibrated so every scale, large and small, was set correctly. He completed studies at Rochester Institute of Technology and on June 7, 1975, he received a diploma for Industrial Supervision; which quickly advanced him to Director of Weights and Measures. You would then find every scale with a seal of his approval for the county for 20 plus years until his retirement in 1996. Cleveland took his job seriously. His motto was posted on his office wall, taken from Leviticus 19:35-37 which reads, “You shall not pervert justice in measurement of length, weight or quantity…” This spoke to his fairness in life. He did his best at what he did and in 1996 received “Distinguished Service Award” for New York State Weights and Measures Association, article V, section 513 (3) in recognition for “an outstanding contribution to the promotion of measurement accuracy or uniform enforcement or equity in commercial transactions.” HE SAW THAT YOUR SHARE WAS FAIR! There’s a time to cry and a time to laugh. Friends and family may remember Cleveland as a gardener, avid rook player, a dominoes champion, and mostly a “no nonsense” guy. In fact, the Democrat and Chronicle featured him in a 1988 news article and referenced a brass weighted “F” on his desk and quoted him when asked to hold it up and guess the weight but raises his hand, in mock horror, says “I don’t try to do it that way,” I try to do it the legal way. In [my] business [I] don’t guess, [I’ve] got to be accurate.” There is a time to be sad and a time to dance with joy. Cleveland loved the Lord and waited earnestly for his return. His daily routine was starting his morning with drinking the “garden trio”, which consist of barley, beets, and carrot juice, memorizing several bible verses and before retiring for the day, listening to his favorite worship messengers and songs. He will be greatly missed and leaves to cherish his memory, wife Ann; daughters, Robin Dixson and Carolyn Walker; sons, Clayton (Karen) Martin and Clifton Forde; sisters, Ellenndene Curwen and Ottaline Greaves of Canada; grandchildren, Crystal (Ty) Thomas, Andre, Walker Nina Stewart, Kaycee, Cayden, and Kennedi Martin; great-grand, Matthew Thomas; many nieces, nephews; special friends, Darrel, Raj, Thaddeus and Travis Kleckley, Linny and Yvonne Moses, Carl and Judith Johnson, and a host of other family and friends