Las Vegas, NV - Forrest Darby passed away peacefully at home on December 12, 2025 at the age of 82. Forrest was best known in Las Vegas as a lifelong advocate for labor, the environment, and other liberal causes, and as a grassroots political organizer for democratic candidates - but he also lived a storied life and was deeply loved by his family and friends.

Forrest was born on August 30, 1943 in Sacramento, CA to Harold and Jessie Darby, and spent his early years in San Mateo, CA. He went to Hillsdale High School and was a football and track athlete before dropping out on his 16th birthday to join the Army, serving in the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, KY until 1963. Forrest continued to take high school credits in the Army, and got to graduate with his classmates at Hillsdale. Upon leaving the Army, he went straight to Anchorage, Alaska, the state that would become his home for over 20 years. He enrolled at Alaska Methodist University and eventually earned a BA in Political Science, which became one of his lifelong passions.

While in Alaska, Forrest worked as a volunteer firefighter, and later as a sports reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, writing his signature sports column, "Frosty's Favorites". His reporting career culminated with him being sent to Munich to report on the 1972 Olympics, a memory he treasured. He also worked as a dispatcher for an electric company in Anchorage, a prelude to his lifelong career as a union electrician. He would continue as an electrician for the rest of his life, joining the IBEW and helping to build the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline out of Prudhoe Bay.

It was in Prudhoe Bay where he would meet Suzanne Marie Rice (now Darby), and they married in 1981. His son Flynn would come a short time later in 1982. The family moved to Las Vegas in 1985, where Forrest resided until his death. Suzanne and Flynn moved to Illinois in 1992, but have always remained a loving family, celebrating life milestones and spending holidays together every year.

In Las Vegas, after a career as an electrician with IBEW 357 including several years at the Nevada Test Site, Yucca Mountain, and the Las Vegas Convention Center, Forrest devoted his "retirement" to politics, organizing for countless democratic candidates. In his final years, he finally decided to rest a little and tend to his bucket list, including traveling the country going to baseball games with his best friend, a month-long trip with his son to show him his old stomping grounds across Alaska, a trip to the Panama Canal with his wife and son, and several cruises, including a halfway-around-the-world cruise with his nephew Nick.

Forrest will be missed by his wife Suzanne of Monticello, IL, his son Flynn of Champaign, IL, his brother Richard (wife Lolita), his nieces and nephews, Ryan, Michael (partner Ashley), Nick, Cybelle, and Elaina, and many other loving family members and friends. A celebration of life is planned on Saturday, January 31st from Noon - 2pm at the IBEW 357 Union Hall at 808 N Lamb Blvd, Las Vegas.