Forest Wayland Lipscomb Jr., age 88, set forth on his last and greatest adventure on Friday morning February 27, 2009. He was born in Springfield, Mo., on October 24, 1920, to Forest Sr. and Mary Elizabeth (Cotner) Lipscomb. He played the Bassoon in the renowned Springfield Boy Scout Band and performed under the direction of John Phillip Sousa. He attended Greenwood Laboratory School and enrolled at Drury College in the fall of 1939, after serving three years as a staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army in Guadalcanal; he returned to Drury graduating in 1946. He was the oldest living member of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Sigma Nu. Forest had a great sense of adventure and was a very forward thinking individual, always researching new technologies and inventions and was well known for his ability to use and apply those innovations. His career spanned over seventy years and traveled extensively all over the world. He was an active member and elder at First and Calvary Presbyterian Church and a charter member of Greater Ozarks International Trade Association and International Executive Service Corps. His early years were spent with Lipscomb Grain & Seed Co., which he later became president of and began manufacturing Houn' Dawg Dog Food. He was also a founding partner of So-Lo Markets. He started International Division Inc. (INDIV) in Trinidad, West Indies, in 1958, and incorporated it in the U.S. in 1964. INDIV focused on supplying customers overseas with modern technology for the agricultural industry and operated with a then revolutionary aspect of being a "one stop shop". While living and growing his businesses in Trinidad he discovered how difficult it was to acquire goods when not in the USA and this led him to develop the company. INDIV currently has offices in Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Malaysia and Venezuela with distributors on five continents. Over the years he owned and operated Lipscomb Caribbean, a vertically integrated poultry company located in Trinidad, West Indies, a steamship line also in the Caribbean called Ozark Navigation Company, and had numerous partnerships in the Caribbean and South America. Forest also started or was in partnership with Caribbean Poultry Suppliers Limited, based in Bridgetown Barbados W.I., Lipscomb Brothers Inc., Caribbean Sales Inc., University World Travel all of Springfield, Mo., Agricultural Supplies Limited based in Port of Spain, Trinidad W.I., Agrimar of de Panama S.A., and Melo Group of C.A. Forest's companies received several very prestigious awards, including the "E" flag in 1963 for Lipscomb Grain & Feed, the "E" certificate for exports in 1973, and the President's "E" star award for commerce in 1977, both for International Division. These awards were given by the Secretery of Commerce of the United States government and few companies received these awards. He helped establish a community center in his village in Trinidad, where he and his family lived for several years. Forest served several terms on the Planning and Zoning commission and was on the James River Freeway Planning Committee. He was involved in many trade missions around the world and traveled over 100,000 miles per year for many years until as recently as last year. He met with Fidel Castro while on a Presidential trade mission to Cuba in 1977, was one of the first American businessmen allowed into China when it opened up for trade in 1979, and in fact stayed in the same hotel with the representatives of Coca Cola who were there also to develop trade in China, he met with the Prime Minister of England while living in Trinidad and had narrow escapes from military coups in several different countries. His personal sense of adventure took him to try Parasailing in Thailand at 75 and in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at 85. He zip-lined in Cabo at 86. He also enjoyed many safari adventures in Africa. Those who knew Forest best will remember him for his integrity and character. He was pleased to be able to close the sale of INDIV to a group of employees in December. He is survived by siblings, Margarie and Gus Enloe of Lady Lake, Fla., and Jack and Kitty Lipscomb of Springfield. Children and grandchildren (in order of oldest to youngest), Mary Lipscomb Thomson and spouse, John Thomson, and their children, Ruth, Naomi with a son (great-grandson Charlie), and Brendon of Evanston, Ill.; John Lipscomb (now deceased) and his children, Justin and wife, Cynthia Lipscomb, and Jake Lipscomb and fiancée Julie Farmer; Jeanne Lipscomb Coke and her children, Caleb, Josh and Sarah; Martha Lipscomb of Federal Way, Wash.; Paul Lipscomb and fiancée, Gloria Gualotuna and his child with first wife is Kelbey, and Paul and Gloria's baby is Forest; Debbie Lipscomb and her child, Derek of Springfield, Mo.; and Jennifer Lipscomb White and her husband, Chris White of Sacramento, Calif. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by twin sons, Thomas and James; his wife, Margaret Hobbs Lipscomb; daughter Lisa Wheeler; his second wife, Mary Ellen Wheeler Lipscomb; and a son, John Lipscomb. Services will be held at 1:30pm on Thursday, March 5, 2009, in First and Calvary Presbyterian Church, with Dr. Greg Seckman officiating, under the direction of Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel. A reception will follow in the church atrium prior to burial. Burial will be in White Chapel Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, in the funeral home.