For Judy Forsman, life has always circled back to Ferdinand.
Born in Lewiston and raised just outside the tiny prairie town of Ferdinand, Forsman has spent nearly every chapter of her life rooted in the same close-knit Idaho county community she now represents as the 2026 Idaho County Fair Grand Marshal.
From farm chores and roller skating in the old school gym to decades spent serving local students, churches and organizations, her story is woven deeply into the prairie’s history.
“I have lived nearly all my life in Ferdinand,” Forsman said with a laugh during a recent interview, recalling how her family gradually “moved up” in the world by purchasing a series of small homes in town after first living on a farm outside the community. She grew up as the oldest alongside four sisters, helping raise cattle and hogs and learning early the value of hard work.
A 1963 graduate of Prairie High School, Forsman helped choose both the school’s name and its mascot — the Prairie Pirates. She remembers the excitement of students from Cottonwood, Ferdinand and Greencreek coming together.
Not long after graduation, Forsman began what would become a 47-year career as a school secretary, first taking the position in 1963 and remaining there until her retirement in 2011. Throughout nearly five decades, she became far more than a secretary to generations of students.
“You’re the face of the school, and you are a little bit of everything to the students,” she said.
Forsman said the relationships she built with students remains one of the greatest joys of her life. Even now, former students still recognize her around town and stop to visit.
“I loved the kids,” she said simply. “I loved my job.”
In about 1990, computers came on the scene at Prairie High School.
“It was a learning curve, but I enjoyed it,” she said. “We mostly did administrative reports and grades. I know that it’s a lot more complicated now.”
Her commitment to community extended far beyond the school office. Forsman helped start the Crafty Critters 4-H Club, which ran from 1976-1982. She received the 4-H Leader of the Year award at this point. She has also served for years with Assumption Parish, sang in local choirs, volunteered at the hospital and monastery (both of where she still volunteers), and helped organize countless dinners, events and activities throughout the area. She also co-founded the local American Legion Auxiliary Chapter and continues participating in the Ferdinand Women’s Card Club, which has met monthly for more than three decades. She also served as a Ferdinand City Council member for 23 years.
Family has remained central throughout it all. Judy and her husband, Mick, were classmates at Prairie High School, and married at 19 before spending a couple of years in Germany while he served in the Army. After returning home, he built a career in logging while Judy continued her work at the school. Together they raised their daughter, Candice [McHugh], and today enjoy having family nearby once again.
Forsman has done a little bit of everything during her life on the prairie, including helping her dad in every aspect of the family farm as a child, to spending about five years raising turkeys with her husband.
“Turkey raising was an adventure,” she smiled. She also sold Avon for 35 years.
Forsman likes to travel, and has been to Nashville, Graceland (“I’m an Elvis fan from way back,” she smiled), New York, the Bahamas, back to Germany, and several other places on cruises with her daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and grandson.
“Mick is not a traveler. He is content to stay in Ferdinand,” she said.
Though Forsman has attended the Idaho County Fair faithfully for years — helping judges in open class and in the 4-H building, entering quilts, watching livestock shows and supporting local youth — she admitted being named grand marshal came as a complete surprise.
“I sweated blood,” she said, laughing about the moment she received the call. “I was just so shaken. And I’m so humbled. But I love everything about the fair!”
Those who know Judy Forsman, however, likely see the honor as long overdue. Her life reflects the same values the Idaho County Fair celebrates each year: community, service, family and deep prairie roots.
And for Ferdinand and Cottonwood, Judy Forsman is more than a grand marshal. She is part of the town’s heart.