Sheep Industry News February 2023

Obituaries

supply a customer’s entire fashion season. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the company became and remained the leading wool merchant in the country. Jack married Sally Marsh of Waban in 1948 and lived in Weston, Mass., for 60 years, where he raised his daughters, Marsha (Jon Westerlund) of Winter Park, Colo., and Cheryl of West Newton, Mass. Jack embraced philanthropy, establish ing scholarships at Phillips Exeter Academy and AFS and making generous grants to local hospitals and charities. He was a stellar athlete with a passion for golf and skiing. He shot eight holes-in-one and was club champion at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, where he first met Sally on the ski hill in his early 20s. He had his last ace at Hole-in-the-Wall Golf Club in Naples at the age of 90. He was preceded in death by four broth ers, Orville W. Forté, Jr. (Junie), Paul H. (Bud), Donald (Dee), William R. (Bill) and a sister Elizabeth (Beth). THOMAS (TOM) CLAYMAN, 1952-2023 Thomas E. “Tom” Clayman, 70, died on Jan. 4, 2023, with his wife by his side. He was born April 15, 1952,

States Wool in Ohio, he was transferred to Hutchinson, Kan., for a “short period of time," and he never left. He and his wife made Hutchinson and the Reno County Community their home for more than 40 years. Twenty years ago, Tom became co owner of Kauffman Seeds. While Tom loved the seed business, his first passion was sheep, especially Montadales. Tom raised, judged, and showed thousands of sheep all over the United States including county and state fairs in addition to national shows. When showing sheep Tom gave freely to others by giving sound advice and offering a helping hand when possible. Tom was a member of the Montadale Sheep Breeder's Association, Oklahoma Genetics, Kansas Crop Improvement As sociation and Reno County 4-H Club. Tom was on the Board of the Montadale Sheep Breeder's Association, where he had served as president. He was a member of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Hutchinson. Tom is survived by his wife, Sandy of Hutchinson; son, Michael Clayman and wife, Cassey, of West Memphis, Ark.; daugh ter, Michelle McMillon and husband, Chris topher, of Old Hickory, Tenn.; sister, Nancy Kramer and husband, Phillip, of Eaton, Ohio; three grandchildren, Wyatt Clayman, Willow Clayman and Abigail McMillon; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to Emanuel Lutheran Church or Montadale Sheep Association, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.

JOHN (JACK) FORTÉ, 1924-2022 John (Jack) H. Forté was born in Boston, the fourth son of Orville W. Forté and Helen Henkels Forté of Waban, Mass., on May 6, 1924. He died in Naples, Fla. – his retire ment home – on Dec. 22, 2022, at the age of 98. Jack attended Phil

lips Exeter Academy, captaining the baseball team his senior year, and graduated in 1942. He then started at Harvard College before joining

24 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org processed into large quantities of a uniform product available on-demand sufficient to the American Field Service during World War II. Ineligible for the American armed services due to a head injury as a boy, he drove ambulances for AFS in Cassino in central Italy. He returned to Harvard where he played second base and also captained the baseball team. His final game was against the Yale team led by George H.W. Bush. After graduating with the class of 1946, Jack joined Forté, Dupee, Sawyer Co. on Summer Street in Boston, a wool business founded by his father in 1921. The Boston Wool District was a burgeoning place, sup plying the many mills of New England, an economy based at that time on the manufac ture of textiles and shoes. The company supplied wool for blankets and uniforms, and later created a unique niche that filled the demand for specialty fibers such as cashmere, camel hair, alpaca and mohair for garments. Boston was the center of the wool trade and prospered until the late 1950s, when the rise of synthetic fibers and labor costs forced the closure of many regional mills and mi gration south where labor costs were lower. It was a challenging time for Forté, Dupee, Sawyer Co., but under Jack’s skillful leader ship the business survived. With characteristic calm he took risks, negotiating generous lines of credit to source odd lots of domestic wool. These were

in Richmond, Ind., to James C. and Martha Jeanne (Koontz) Clay

man. On June 3, 1972, he married Sandra "Sandy" Kay Lohr, in Nevada, Ohio. Tom graduated from Eaton High School in Eaton, Ohio. While working for Mid

OPP

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Kyle, please use this for all months. Thanks! Judy 8/7/18