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Mary Ellen Forsyth
1930 - 2010

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• Birth	12 Jun 1930	Tampa, Florida
  Gender	Female
  Died	12 May 2010	Tampa, Florida
  Person ID	I90	James Forsyth + Marion Boyd
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2021

  
  

  Father	James McDonald Forsyth,   b. 10 Jun 1879, Scotland ,   d. 12 Sep 1958, Tampa, Florida
  Mother	Philomena Augusta Yancey,   b. 05 Jul 1904,   d. 10 Sep 1989
  Married	9 Oct 1923	Tampa, Hillsborough, Florida, United States
  Family ID	F27	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	Living
  Children	1. Living   2. Brenda Jo Cain,   b. 03 May 1955,   d. 07 May 1955
  Family ID	F28	Group Sheet

  
  

• Notes

  Mary Ellen Forsyth was the daughter of Philomena Yancey and James McDonald Forsyth. She was born June 12, 1930, in Tampa, Hillsborough, FL [1] In 1940 Mary Ellen lived at 1012 33rd Ave, (previously named Selma Ave) in Tampa, Florida, and was in the 3rd grade. Living with her is her maternal grandfather, her parents, and her two siblings, Marjorie and Richard.[2] She and Joseph Gerold Cain eloped to Mitchell, Georgia, and were married on August 31, 1946. [3] On their return home, her parents insisted she get married in the Catholic Church, so another ceremony was performed in the rectory of St Joseph Church of West Tampa. This second marriage was just a religious ceremony, not recorded in the church records or with the state. Information was provided by Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen was a writer and an artist. She wrote many short stories, mostly events from her childhood. The longest "They Don't Build Front Porches on Houses Anymore" told about many of the childhood events and the people she loved. It inspired us to have "We will meet you on the front porch" on her tombstone. She loved to go to Franklin, North Carolina every fall, and only once could I talk her into going somewhere different. She also was able to visit Scotland, the homeland of her father, 3 times. The last 2 with my husband and me, but this was in the spring, and come fall, it was back to Franklin. She taught oil painting at Tampa recreation centers and filled her home with paintings, many from her favorite places in Franklin, NC, and Scotland. Every year she would create a new painting for her Christmas cards, which her friends and family were always happy to receive. The original Christmas paintings are in my home. In addition to being an artist and a writer, she was a great cook. From the simple meal of meatloaf to the holiday feasts, it was all good. What I would not do for a bowl of her vegetable soup now. I made it with her and I have her recipe, but nothing I do makes it taste the way she made it taste. Of all her accomplishments, the best thing she did was being a mother and a best friend to her children. She was known to her grandsons, as DeeDee, a name my son started calling her for some unknown reason, so she became DeeDee to us all. Mary Ellen was in good health and would probably have lived into her 90's, but she had been exposed to asbestos, brought home on her husband's work clothes, and about 2007 was diagnosed with Mesothelioma and died on May 12. 2010. Mary Ellen Forsyth Cain is buried in Matthews Cemetery in Seffner, Florida [4] [5]and a tree is planted in her memory in The Whispering Wood, Comrie, Scotland. Marsha. March 15, 2021