Ronald Baker “Bud” Forman, lovingly known as “Buddaddy,” age 86, of Aledo, Texas, passed away on Oct. 9, 2026. He was born on Sept. 10, 1940, in Denison, Texas, to Walter Inskip “Skip” Forman and Etta Lavene Forman. Bud lived a life marked by determination, creativity and love for his family.
Bud grew up alongside his brother, Gary, and moved often throughout his childhood. He excelled in athletics, earning first-team all-state honors in basketball and also participating in baseball and track. The drive he showed in sports would later define his work as a coach, homebuilder and land developer. He graduated from Birdville High School in 1958 and attended Tyler Junior College from 1958 to 1960 before continuing his education and basketball career at North Texas University. There he earned a Bachelor of Science and formed lasting friendships with the Geezle Athletic Fraternity. He later earned a master’s degree in education from Texas Christian University.
Bud began his career in education as a teacher and basketball coach. Bud coached at various schools in the Fort Worth area before becoming the head basketball coach at O. D. Wyatt High School. His years in coaching reflected the qualities that stayed with him throughout his life: a competitive spirit, a strong work ethic and a refusal to give up.
A natural storyteller who never met a stranger, Bud loved connecting with people and sharing stories from his life. His stories, lucky buckeyes and his legendary number 20 are among the things his family will always associate with him.
Bud’s entrepreneurial spirit also led him to places that became part of the family’s story: Pagosa Springs, Colo.; the Double Draw Farm in Gower, Mo.; Forman Mizpah Cattle Ranch in Miles City, Mont.; Possum Kingdom Lakehouse; and ranches near Dalhart and Seminole, Texas. Each place reflected his interest in land, his love of the outdoors and the time with family and friends.
Bud accomplished much in his life, but his family will remember him most fondly as a husband, father and Buddad. They will carry forward his stories, determination and generosity, including his habits of keeping buckeyes, always with a buckeye on hand to give to the people he met. Bud adored his nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and nephews.
Bud was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Inskip “Skip” Forman and Etta Lavene Forman, and his brother, Gary Forman, who passed away in 2011.
He is survived by his wife of more than 62 years, Mary Elizabeth; his daughter, Barbara King, and her husband, Ben King; his son, Brett Forman, and his wife, Reagan Forman; and his son, Jeffrey Forman, and his wife, Kelly Forman.
He is also survived by his grandchildren: Samuel Brooks Forman, Jackson Alexander King, Ava Marie Forman, Jeffrey Talan Forman, Kate Elizabeth Forman, Mary Grace King, Grant Owen Forman, and Max Thomas Forman, Natalie Ann Freeman and Grayson Freeman.
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