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THIS ISSUE:
90th
Anniversary
Swedish Institute on-line newsletter for our students, faculty and community.
Jenny Forbes
Class of 1964
When asked why she became a massage therapist, Jenny Forbes has always replied, "No one had to
tell me about massage. My mother used to massage me as a child, and I felt it was the greatest
thing in the world." A native of Jamaica, Ms. Forbes remembers an idyllic existence there.
“I had a wonderful childhood,” she said, “We were free to run in and out of the house, and
through the open fields. We had to cross a river on our property to get to our farm. We had
mules, horses, pigs, dogs and chickens.” And a lot of children: she was the last one in a
family of 13 children
Being close to nature gave her a gentle, yet strong, quality, one that suited her well for the
careers she would later choose. Ms. Forbes left Jamaica at 22 to come live with an aunt in
New York City. She tried out different types of work, got married and had a son. Her husband
didn't want her to work any more, but she insisted. She found her way to the Swedish Institute,
where the prospect of working as a massage therapist felt at once familiar and full of new
possibilities.
Ms. Forbes recalled great pleasure in learning anatomy and physiology. She remembers the school's
director, Lillian F. Phillips, with a special intensity. “I was taking a final exam and as I
put my test paper down on the desk, Ms. Phillips whispered to me, ‘don’t say anything and don’t
turn around, but President Kennedy has just been shot.’” Ms. Forbes left quietly and waited
outside, as fellow students came out and shared their disbelief and grief that day,
November 22, 1963.
Meeting a World Leader
After graduating from the Swedish Institute, Ms. Forbes began working as a massage therapist at
the Hackensack YMHA in Northern New Jersey. "They allowed women in two days a week," she recalled,
"and that's when I worked there, on women of course." She gradually developed a private clientele
as well, working at night, on weekends and at summer retreats.
One of the highlights of her life occurred while she was working at the Hackensack Y. "I met
Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel, who stopped there during her trip to the U.S.
(in 1969)," Ms. Forbes recalled. "We had time to have a lengthy discussion, and she wanted to
know all about massage, how I'd been trained, why I got into it."
Ms. Forbes was struck by the gentleness of Prime Minister Meir, who had a reputation for being
an "Iron Lady." (Once, after someone referred to her as "the only man in the cabinet", the Prime
Minister said she found it amusing that someone would think the highest compliment they could pay
her would be to consider her a man.)
Continuing Personal Growth
Ms. Forbes had another son, and continued to work while going for a college degree. At the
College of New Rochelle she completed a B.A. with a major in psychology. "I went to school until
10 at night, and on weekends. I had to sit in the bathroom to study," she laughed, "because it
was the only place I could be alone. Sometimes I'd fall asleep in there. I don't know how I did
it."
With her degree from New Rochelle she landed a job as a psychiatric nurse's aide at the Bronx
Hospital for the Mentally Ill. Her work involved giving medications and injections, but also
leading group sessions, social activities and outings with patients, some of whom could be
violent. "Somehow, they always cooperated with me," Ms. Forbes said. " I didn't mind the
challenge of patient care. But back in those days part of 'good nursing' was also getting
down on my hands and knees to scrub the floor."
After a year, she was ready for a change. She took a test given by the city and went to work for
the welfare department, where she remained until she retired. "Thank goodness I worked, even
though my husband didn't want me to," she confessed, "because now I l have a pension from the
city, and Medicare insurance. My husband died suddenly in his late 50's, and if it wasn't for my
work, I wouldn't have anything today."
Full of Life
At age 85, Jenny Forbes is studying the Kabbalah, makes visits to her large family in all quarters
of the U.S., and would love to do more traveling. She is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Her only physical complaint is a knee with some new, nagging pain that she thinks would be improved
by acupuncture. It's something she wants to try.
She says with exuberance, "I'm into everything.” The world leader who she happened to cross paths
with in 1969 said something during that trip has a similar sentiment: "Don’t become cynical.
Don’t give up hope. Don’t believe that everything is judged only by expediency. There is idealism
in the world. There is human brotherhood." Both women put their ideals to work, one quietly and
one in the spotlight, to help people live a better life.
Photos
Top: Photo by David Corio.
Center: Jenny Forbes at home in New York in 2006.
All photos in the newsletter not otherwise specified are by Barbara Goldschmidt and are the
property of the Swedish Institute ©2006.