Forrest Lee Covin

  General Notes:

Today is the birthday of Forrest Lee Covin. He was born on January 10, 1917 in Longview, Texas. He died on January 17, 1970 in Hurst, TX.

In between he had a hard but significant life. He is my father, the father of my sister, Joyce Runyan and my brother, Keith Covin. He is the Grandfather of my three children, Sarah Kathryn Covin, John David Covin and Forrest Keith Covin and their cousin, David Runyan, Joyce and Dick Runyan's son. They never knew my father and their Grandfather.

He would have loved them all. He would have enjoyed each of them as individuals and given each of them unique but equal amounts of love. He spent his life trying to attain his father's approval, and the approval of his wife, my mother, Lerabeth Rice Covin.

My view of my father continues to emerge as I get older and recognize more and more of him in me. I did not feel close to him in life, but I feel closer to him each day in the Spirit world. I know him today as a strong man on the outside, naive to his own strength of character and without the confidence that God made him to be was sufficient to relax and enjoy life. His heart was large and he was a giving man. He assisted many young men and women to find ways to go to college. He was a teacher and a coach at heart and for a while as his profession.

Athletics was his life as a young man and later in throughout his adult life. He distinguished himself at Mineola High School in his athletic pusuits. Several years after his death, he was elected to the Mineola HS Athletic Hall of Fame. Joyce has possession of the plaque commenorating his induction.

He played football in college. He finished school at North Texas Teachers State College in Denton Texas. Today the school is known as the University of North Texas. He has both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees for there. Before attending North Texas, he enrolled at Baylor and played freshman football and then enrolled at Texas Tech to play football. Since he had not maintained passing grades at Baylor, he had to enroll at Texas Tech under an assumed name. This was a common practice in those days. The next year he enrolled at North Texas and played football for three years and earned All Lone Star Conference honors as a Junior and as a Senior. His Senior year, he was named Little All-American for his distinguished play.

His brother, Larry Covin, attended Stephen F. Austin College in Nacogdoches and they played against each other on multiple occasions. Their Senior year the game between Stephen F. Austin and North Texas was played in Nacogdoches. Their mother, my grandmother, Jessie Lee Covin, attended that game. During half time the game announcer told the crowd that there was a woman in the stands that was in love with a player on both teams and was divided in her allegance. While the band played 'Let me Call You Sweetheart", she was escorted from the Stephen F. Austin rooting section to the rooting section for North Texas.

It is not clear which team won the game.

Forrest received offers to play professional football from the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns. He chose to enter the Navy instead. He was trained as a pilot, but never flew in combat. While in the Navy, he married my Mother on December 24, 1942 in Ferris, Texas at the First Presbyterian Church.

During their time in the Navy, Forrest and Lerabeth lived in Dallas, San Francisco, Ottuma, Iowa and Olalthe, Kansas. Their first child was born in Dallas on December 27th, 1943 before they moved to SF. They lived in South San Francisco and he flew in and out of Alameda Naval Air Station near Oakland, CA.

While stationed at the Naval Air Station Olathe, Kansas, their second child, John Forrest Covin, was born. Upon leaving the Navy, they lived in their first home in Ferris, Texas. Forrest was a teacher and head football coach at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. During this time, Forrest earned extra money and kept his flying skills up to date as a 'crop duster.' He would come home smelling like the insectacide his plane sprayed on the crops around Ferris.

After a couple of years at Wilmer-Hutchins. Forrest and family moved to 'the Valley' of Texas. He coached at Edcouch-Elsa High School. Lerabeth taught Home Economics in the High School. I have vague memories of my life in those days.

His next coaching assignment was near Longview, Texas, the town of his birth. He coached football and other sports at Judson Grove High School and Lerabeth taught Home Economics in the high school. I remember being in the locker room with him and his team and noticing the strong smells of young men (they were large men to me and my heroes) competing for glory. Later, I played for the same school and used the same dressing rooms that he used as a coach. I do not ever remember thinking about the fun of being a player in the same dressing rooms that he coached in. I guess that is a specialness that is recognized and appreciated as one gets older and is fond of memories of his Dad from long ago.

While living in Judson, Keith was born. Most of my memories of my youth are from this time until we moved to Hurst in 1962. Those were very hard years for my father. He left coaching to sell insurance and was successful as a salesman, winnig trips for he and my mother to Florida and Mexico. Many of the furnishings for our home were sales awards as a result of his success.

He returned to teach in the late fifties and taught math and coached golf at Foster Junior High School in Longview. We attended the First Presbyterian Church in Longview after several years at the Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Forrest was my little league baseball coach, and was a coach for the ALL Stars that made it to the Regional playoffs where they lost to the Monterrey Mexico team that went on to the Little League finals.

He and my mother did not have a happy marriage in those days. He was a firm disciplanarian and spanking was the only tool he had. It is the only tool he had experienced. He was unusually hard on my sister while she was in high school. He was so very much more strict on her than her friend's parents were. He knew no other way I suppose, but I will always admire her for what she endured in those years.

In 1962, we moved to Hurst, where both he and my mother lived until their respective deaths. He taught math at North Side High School, coached golf and was a baseball umpire and football referee. He had been a football referee during our years in Longview, and I remember going to games with him and being in the locker rooms of the teams and smelling the aromas that I would experience later as a high school player myself. The sights and smells were the strongest sense that made an impression. The sights of the players in their uniforms set the images that I would later attempt to emmulate in Jr. High and High School.

In Hurst, Joyce was gone to college and I had two years of high school before going to college. Keith was the light of Daddy's life during those years. Keith allowed Daddy to moderate just by his personality, tenderness, gentleness and his peace-maker nature. He would moderate difficulties between Daddy and Mother.

I saw my father cry on two occasions that I recall vividly. The first was when my Grandfather Rice, my mother's father, died in November, 1965. The other time was after I got my Navigator Wings as a Naval Aviator. He and my mother were at Keith's HS graduation sitting in the football stadium waiting for the exercises. I walked up the stairs to where they were sitting in my Naval Officer's uniform, with my new wings on. When I looked at him, he was crying. I knew at that moment that he was proud of me. I knew that he never got the approval of his father, but I had his. That was May 1969. He would die the next January.

But his memory continues in my life. I have learned a lot from him. He continues to guide me and coach me and inspire me and comfort me periodically. I think of him mostly when I find myself enjoying my own children and when I am around his other grandchild, David Runyan. David has the physique and build of my father even more than I do and more than either of my sons.

He would love to banter with SK and they would watch Star Trek and Babylon 5 together. He was an avid reader of comic books when I was young. I could never enjoy them and cannot identify with the nature of SK's shows. But Forrest Lee Covin would bond deeply and often with his only granddaughter.

He would play checkers and chess with John David, and watch football incessantly with him. He would learn from John David about the outdoors, and enjoy JD's dog, Duke. They would cut wood together and he would let JD drive his jeep or whatever vehicle he would have if he were alive. JD would spend a lot of time with his granddad and they would be constant companions in my opinion.

Daddy would not miss a hockey game. He would be amazed at the speed of his grandson. He would delight along with his own son as they watched his name-sake check players and hardly ever be knocked down himself. He would love hockey. They would talk about the similarities of hockey, basketball and football at length and he would be reminded of his own playing and coaching days.

He would be amazed at what computers do. He would simply not be able to stand not learning more and more about them. He would spend hours watching in amazement as his grandsons played computer games.

He woud delight in watching David referee football. He would see in David the life of his only daughter. He would, through David, love Joyce. He would spend a lot of time in Joyce's home; talking to Dick; enjoying the style of his only daughter; the way she dresses; the way she decorates her home; the way she manages her life, which is exactly like his own mother. He would love her attention to the smallest detail, and enjoy eating her treats and surprises and experiencing new things in life.

He would spend time in the home of my two sons and their mother. He more than anyone else in the entire world would understand why.

He would spend time with Keith and Regina and kid Regina about relaxing. He would understand Regina. He would love Keith even more for loving Regina as he does. He would play poker with Keith and Johnny at the casino. He would win more than either of us would.

All of these things that I think we would do . . . he does. I wish that my children and David could have known my father. Since he is enjoying them and us in his current Spirit, I wish that we could enjoy him enjoying them and enjoying us.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.
10-January-2001
Today marks your 85th birthday.

John Forrest Covin


Sent as an email to: Joyce, Keith, Sarah Kathryn, John David, Forrest and David on 10-January-2001
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  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Teacher and Coach.

• Education: University of North Texas.

• Religion: Raised Baptist, converted to Presyterian for marriage.

Forrest married Lerabeth Wilson Rice, daughter of John Simon Rice and Mattie Mae Wilson, on 24 Dec 1942 in Ferris, Texas. (Lerabeth Wilson Rice was born on 20 Jun 1921 east of Ferris, Ellis County, Texas, died on 3 Sep 1997 in Hurst, Texas and was buried in Ferris, Texas.)