Forrest Craver was born in Gettysburg on November 26, 1943, Forrest, also known as “Chip,” was the son of Dorothy Meyer Craver and Forrest Eugene Craver Jr. He graduated from Gettysburg High School in 1961 and went on to receive his A.B. degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, and his law degree from the University of Detroit in Detroit.
A life-long organizer, advocate and fundraiser for civil rights, human rights and social justice causes, he served for 10 years with the Institute of Cultural Affairs in the U.S. and Europe, and was among the organizers of the First Earth Day in 1970.
Over his 50-year career, Craver served as adviser and strategist to a diverse number of organizations ranging from the Mankind Project, to Planned Parenthood, and the National Council of Negro Women, the Shambala Center, and Christian Children’s Fund. Internationally, he played a key role in the anti-apartheid movement to free South Africa. Locally, he participated in organizing efforts to block initiatives to build a casino and racetrack near the Gettysburg National Military Park.
A captain in the 82nd Airborne Division in the ‘60s, Craver later became an active advocate and campaigner against the government’s use of Agent Orange, the defoliant and herbicide used in Vietnam and associated with various types of cancer.
Forrest is survived by his partner Prema Rose of Paonia, CO; his former wife, Susan Erickson of Denver; his sons, Andrew and Joshua Craver, also of Denver; his brother, Roger M. Craver of Chilmark, Massachusetts.; and six grandchildren.
REMEMBERING FORREST
Forrest Craver; Founding member of the Detroit House. Later he served in DC, Ivy City and Brussels Nexus. Attended Ivy City, Inysn Wakagapi, Tairgwaith and Ijede Consults.
