Jerry W. Forke

Jerry W. Forke died following emergency surgery on February 5, 2022 at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri.
Jerry (or Jake, as he was known to some of his granddaughters) was a 1952 graduate of Kirksville High School. While in high school, he played on the Kirksville Tigers football team and was inducted into the Kirksville High School Football Hall of Fame in 2018 as a member of the undefeated 1950 Tigers team. Jerry also earned a journalism degree from the University of Louisville and was a loyal Louisville Cardinals fan.
In 1952, he married Pat Doran and from this marriage was born one daughter, Terry Insco. He married Edwina Rinehart Laudwig in 1987, to whom he remained married until his death.
As a young man, Jerry worked for the Santa Fe Railroad as a telegraph operator and station agent. The love of trains remained with him for his entire lifetime and, in later years, he enjoyed being a tour guide at the old Chicago & Alton depot in Independence, MO. Jerry never forgot the Morse code that he had learned as a telegraph operator. If a tour of children came through the C&A depot, he’d tap out each person’s name for them in Morse code.
For the majority of his professional career, and until his retirement in 1998, Jerry worked as a sports writer for the Daily Racing Form covering thoroughbred horse racing in Illinois, California, Ohio and Kentucky. He went to more than thirty Kentucky derby races and innumerable Triple Crown races.
Jerry’s friends and family will remember that he loved a good cigar, a glass of wine and that he hated to miss an episode of The Young And The Restless, even going so far as to record them if he wouldn’t be home when they aired. He also enjoyed a good joke and telling stories . . . sometimes with just a bit of embellishment. A perfect day or evening for Jerry would be spent with a group of friends or with family, just enjoying the closeness of the relationships.
He was preceded in death by his parents Jack Forke and Dorothy Myers Forke, as well as his sister, Jolene Kaufman. Jerry is survived by his daughter, Terry (Tim) Insco of Saint Joseph, Mo, as well as Edwina’s children; Christy (Steve) Nyquist of Lee’s Summit, MO, Steve (Susan) Laudwig of Osage Beach, MO and Frank Laudwig of Highland Village, TX; Eight grandchildren, Travis (Anna) Insco, Taylor Wolfe, Megan (Brandon) Morrow, Nicole (Alex) Lesani, Laura Nyquist, Ryan Laudwig, Sydney Laudwig and Jessica Laudwig; Six great-grandchildren, Avery Wolfe, Harper Morrow, Vivienne Morrow, Corrine Lesani, Holden Lesani and Keller Elian.
A celebration of life will be held in the future at a time yet to be determined. Those who wish to make a donation or memorial in remembrance of Jerry, please consider either; Harvesters – The Community Food Network, 3801 Topping Ave, Kansas City, MO 64129 (www.harvesters.org) or Shelter KC, 1520 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO 64108 (www.shelterkc.org). Online condolences may be expressed at www.speakschapel.com (Arrangements: Speaks Suburban Chapel (816) 373-3600)