Athlene Forsyth, 90 years old, was Darlington’s organist for many years and taught piano lessons until the week she died on July 5, 2002. She will live on in the memories of generations of Darlington students who took lessons from her.
“She was a remarkable woman ... She was playing the organ here in Chapel on the day of Summer School registration and I introduced her to the students,” Sam Moss, associate headmaster and dean of college guidance, recalls. “She came out here almost every day to teach Darlington students, went to every concert and arts event in town, and drove her car to Bainbridge, Ga., the last week before she died to see her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
“She taught piano to many Darlington students and hundreds more young people in Rome over the course of her career,” Gloria Eberhart, MIS/database manager, said.
“It is impossible to replace Mrs. Forsyth,” Russell Evans ’03, said in remembering his piano teacher. “I loved her like my own grandmother and will never forget the way she held her necklace when she spoke. No one was more proud of me than she. I miss her deeply.”
“She lived for her students. I believe that is what kept her going,” Evans said. “I recall from my last lesson with her we were discussing that I was approaching my senior year. She said that was the one disadvantage of her work, watching us move on.”
“She certainly enriched the lives of all of us who knew her—and we will all remember her love of music and her love of young people,” Moss said.
Athlene was born in Asheville, N.C. on April 12, 1912. She was a graduate of St. Genevieve of the Pines in Asheville, and received a degree in music from Shorter College in 1954. Athlene was a member of the Rome Music Teachers Association, the Rome Area Heritage Society, the Rome Area History Museum, and the Women’s Symphony Association.
