Inga Kirsten Forline

July 10, 1930 - October 16, 2017

Inga Kirsten Forline, age 87, of Oakland passed away on October 16, 2017 at Piedmont Gardens.

Inga lived all of her life in Oakland. She was born on July 10, 1930, to John Dane and Jenny Mikkelsen, both Danish immigrants. Both she and her older brother Paul were in the Youth choir at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. Inga liked to play tennis as well as piano. She graduated from Oakland High School.

Soon after graduation she started working at the Berkeley Main Branch of Wells Fargo Bank, where she began as a teller and worked her way up. She retired after 38 years as a valued and loyal employee. In addition to her financial and writing skills, she was always interested in people and had a ready hearty laugh. These traits plus her generous, volunteering spirit helped many of the organizations Inga joined. She was a long-time member of the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club (through which she supported Children’s Fairyland), Sons of Norway, and Our Saviour’s and Trinity Lutheran Churches in Oakland. She also gave generously to many military veterans’ organizations.

Inga met her future husband, Hamilton “Frank” Forline, when she took some of her relatives from Denmark on a tour bus to see the sights of San Francisco. They married on October 16, 1971 and together happily enjoyed their home in the Rockridge area, their dogs, gardening, bicycling, skiing, and traveling. During the 1991 Oakland firestorm she and Frank, armed with garden hoses, helped save their home and others nearby. Frank died in September 1992. Her beloved brother Paul, an accomplished artist whose work she treasured, died in 2001.

In recent years Inga’s constant companion was her dog Chuck, adopted from a local shelter. She and Chuck made many new friends, both human and canine, during their twice-daily neighborhood walks.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, December 16, at 1:00pm at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 650 Alma Avenue. Oakland CA 94610. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Trinity Church or a charity of your choice.

Chapel of the Chimes offers a website (www.oakland.chapelofthechimes.com/obituaries) for Inga’s family and many friends here and in Denmark to share their photos and stories.