Ronald Forman

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Ronald L. "Ron" Forman, 79, longtime resident of Great Kills, Staten Island passed away Thursday, December 8, 2022 at New York Presbyterian Hospital of cancer. Born and raised in Brooklyn where he grew up in Brownsville and then Canarsie, Ron was a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn College and the Courant Institute of Mathematics at New York University. His parents, Dr. William Forman and Blanche Forman, were both educators, and instilled in him a lifelong love for learning and teaching. For over 50 years, he was a professor of mathematics at Kingsborough Community College, where he was known as one of the best teachers and always received nearly perfect scores on Rate my Professor. His students were his top priority and he didn't believe that there was a person who could not learn math.

While math was his "day job," Ron was the encapsulation of a true renaissance man and a consummate New Yorker. A lifelong fan of comic books, he was at one point the third largest distributor of comic books on the East Coast as a co-founder and partner in Comics Unlimited, Ltd. He was also the biggest music fan with an encyclopedic memory of the American pop standards catalogue for any singer, songwriter, performer or musician and counted among his favorites was, of course, the great Frank Sinatra. When most people would retire and just relax a bit as they approached their 60s, Ron decided his third life would begin, and launched the popular radio show The Sweet Sounds with Ron Forman on 90.3 WKRB FM, featuring his favorite music, on-air interviews and so much more, that has aired for more than 20 years every Sunday evening. His love for music grew into a fourth career, as he was also a highly respected reviewer for Cabaret Scenes magazine, attending shows two or three nights a week in Manhattan for the last 10 years or so (minus the time lost to the lockdown). 

While you would think that there would be no other time left for him to do anything, it couldn't be farther from reality. Ron used his mathematical brain to calculate every waking minute of his life and found a way to keep adding things to the calendar. Calling him a sports fan is like calling the President of the United States some guy who gives speeches. Ron had tickets for every sports possibility in New York and, if he was lucky, every playoff opportunity as well. Since 1987, he had Mets tickets, and even as he wasn't feeling his best this summer, still somehow managed to attend 33 games. (He adopted the Mets as his team after his first love, the Giants, went to San Francisco.) Ron knew that the Pat Riley era would usher in a rebirth of New York Knickerbocker basketball...and while the Knicks were exciting throughout the 1990s, he continued to hold his season tickets, and attend as many home games as he could every year...even for the last 10 years. The Jets were his football club and he also managed to find a way to fit being a season ticket holder there as well. His rationale was that it was only eight games a year and was time that he tried to reserve for being with his beloved younger brother, Gary. All of those tickets were a way for Ron to invite his many friends and also his wife, brother, sons and grandchildren to spend some time with him. And, giving his family special experiences was a huge part of his life.

Ron was married to Ann for more than 53 years. He loved to tell stories about their courtship and connection (his mother set them up!) and life for nearly six decades. They were able to travel, loved to have a meal at a good steakhouse together, and attend many shows, concerts, and sports events. Ron was so proud of his three sons, David (Allison), Eric (Sara) and Steven. He loved nothing more than showing off their accomplishments to his many friends and always tried to capture as many life events in photos with them as possible. He loved spending time, taking them to games, watching their sporting events and telling stories to his grandchildren, Benjamin, Elijah and Madeleine and Ella and Lyla. 

It is customary to mention a charity or cause to support in the memory of one who has passed. However, in this case, Ron would want everyone to use that money to buy a ticket (or a season package, your choice) to attend any concert, or play, or Broadway or off-Broadway musical, or opera, or symphony, or a performance by a soloist, or lecture, or a musical review, an art exhibit, a Mets game, a Knicks game, a Jets game, a Rangers game or any other meaningful and fun experience. Ron lived nearly 80 years to their fullest and his only request was that everyone try to fit as much life as possible into the one you are given.

Shiva will be observed at 78 Cobb Road, Mountain Lakes ,NJ on Sunday 6:30pm - 9pm; Monday 11 am - 9 pm; Tuesday 6pm-9 pm; Wednesday 6pm-9 pm; Thursday 6pm-9 pm; Friday 9am to 12 noon.