Jan. 31: Terry is back in Madison after spending the last week in Salem with his mom. A memorial service is planned for February 23, the week of Forry’s 93rd birthday. An obituary follows, which can also be found on the Salem Satesman Journal’s website.
Forrest M. Haller Obituary
SALEM – Forrest M. (“Forry”)
Haller, 92, died peacefully at home on January 24, 2008. Forry was born on February 20, 1915 in Arnegard, North Dakota to Adolph I. and Della A. (nee Rohney) Haller. The family moved to Red Wing, Minnesota in 1922. In 1932, he graduated from Red Wing High School. Several years later, he went west and eventually found a job with Northrop Aircraft in Los Angeles. Over the next 25 years, with a hiatus during 1945-49, Forry rose to head Northrop’s production engineering operations, and he was General Supervisor of Missile Planning there. He worked on numerous Northrop projects, including the YB-49 Flying Wing airplane (a precursor of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) and the SM-62 Snark missile. Forry was married to Thelma (”Topsy”) Arstill on October 22, 1945, and they moved to Palm Springs, California, where they helped to build and manage the White Sun Guest Ranch in Rancho Mirage. In 1947-9, they lived in Portland, Oregon before returning to L.A. From 1951 on, they lived in Manhattan Beach and Los Alamitos, California before retiring to Salem, Oregon in 1972. Forry is survived by his very special wife Topsy, to whom he was married for over 62 years; two sons, Terry L. Haller of Madison, Wisconsin and Michael D. Haller of Salem, Oregon; one grandson, Christopher W. Haller in his senior year at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington; and two brothers, Donald M. Haller of Salem, Oregon and Deane A. Haller of Red Wing, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his father, Adolph Haller in 1940, his stepfather Fred Gerdes in 1964, his mother Della (Rohney) Gerdes in 1972 and his brother Lyndon W. Haller (wife Lela) in 1999. A memorial service will take place at 2:00PM on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at the First Presbyterian Church, 770 Chemeketa Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301.