September 15, 2005 - Memorial Issue for Sean Forte, L.Ac.

Memorial Issue for Sean Forte, L.Ac.
Friend, Student and member of the Acupreneur.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!
- Mary Frye (1932)

As appeared online:

Sean Forte, 32, of Manhattan , New York , N.Y., formerly of Port Carbon, died Tuesday in Manhattan .

Born in Pottsville , Sept. 2, 1972, he was a son of Ralph Forte, Port Carbon, and Susan Kritak Whetstone, Schuylkill Haven. He was a 1990 graduate of Pottsville Area High School .

He was of the Protestant faith.

He attended Bloomsburg University and was a graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine of Acupuncture and Herbology with a master's degree. He was an acupuncturist and a member of the faculty of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He taught Tai Chi at Chelsea Adult Day Care Center , Manhattan . He was a manager of Northeastern at Tai Chi Chuan School , Manhattan . He loved the outdoors and was an accomplished musician.

Surviving are his wife, Karen Allen-Forte, Manhattan; a sister, Tanya Keister, Raleigh, N.C.; two brothers, Mark Forte, Flying Hills, Reading, and Ryan Whetstone, Moosic; a stepfather, Edward Jake Whetstone, Schuylkill Haven; a paternal grandmother, Dora Mae Forte, Port Carbon; two nieces, Hannah Keister, Raleigh, N.C., and Natalie Gibbs, East Brunswick, N.J.; two aunts, Kathy Kritak, Port Carbon, and Michelle Gerstenfeld, Pottsville; an uncle, Patrick Forte, Minersville; several cousins.

It was Wednesday at 2PM In the midst of my annual retreat when I received the news. I was shocked, saddened and angered by the loss.

The Acupreneur was born out of my desire to help people like Sean - gifted healers and teachers without the information and skills to create a successful business.

Sean was the chief instructor at my Tai Chi school here in New York City . He was a dedicated student and an inspiration to those who came in contact with him. He had his own special brand of gentle compassion and kindness that no one will ever forget!

I will miss him and I know I am in good company with others that will miss him to.

This past Tuesday some of the Tai Chi students at my school and I got together and had an informal memorial. I sent an email out to about 12 people and 20 people showed up - it was very surprising.

"When someone we love dies, we get so busy mourning what died that we ignore what didn't." - Ram Dass

That was the amazing thing about this informal memorial - it was clear that in Sean's quiet, gentle way, Sean had touched the lives of so many people in so many contexts in so many profound ways and that gentle touching will live on in all of those who were impacted by it and in turn will impact those that we touch!