O-SenseOne of my favorite people passed away at his home in Hailey on Oct. 17. His name was Forrest Hymas and he was an integral part of Idaho’s agricultural community. He will be sorely missed.
For the last 33 years, Forrest Hymas has been the southern Idaho trustee for a special kind of bankruptcy, the Chapter 12. This provision of the Bankruptcy Code was passed in 1986 (former Idaho U.S. Rep. Richard Stallings played a key role) and is designed to give family farmers a chance to hold on to their operation when times are tough financially.
The Chapter 12 trustee plays a critical role. He or she is obligated to examine debtors under oath about their finances, appear in court during the case, collect payments from the debtors and distribute such payments to creditors.
A few years ago I had a dairy client who needed to file a Chapter 12. Before filing, I called Forrest and introduced myself. It was the beginning of a warm friendship (I think he became friends with virtually everyone he met). I often would call him to discuss cases and just chat.
I thought of him as Idaho’s version of Atticus Finch. He had white hair, a face full of character, was always impeccably dressed, and spoke with a deep, resonant voice. Though not an attorney by trade, he wrote detailed and insightful reports for the court. His words carried weight both inside and outside of the courtroom.
I knew bits and pieces of his background from conversations over the years, but learned much from his obituary. His family owned the ground that became the Sun Valley resort. He boxed and played football at Idaho State and attended what became BSU. He and his wife hung out with Ernest Hemingway in their earlier years. He owned and ran the Smiley Creek lodge/restaurant between Sun Valley and Stanley for 10 years. He for a time had a ranch in Jerome but took great pride in his economic development work to diversify the Jerome economy.
His knowledge of agriculture, in particular the Idaho variety, was encyclopedic. He knew animals, crops, water, machinery and marketing inside and out. Not all of that came from his trustee role. His cattle ranch in Jerome spawned five national champions of the exotic Charolais breed. He had served as chair of both the Idaho Cattlemen’s Association and the Idaho Beef Council.
For years Forrest Hymas has been a key bridge between the demands of lenders to get paid and the hope of family farmers to hang on when times are tough. To debtors, he was the equivalent of the village priest, always willing to listen but not prone to sugarcoat when a more direct approach was necessary.
He had great credibility with Idaho’s ag lenders. They saw him as an honest broker. One time he called me from the Boise Valley where he was doing a cow count for a lender. The animals kept moving making an accurate count difficult. I remember him joking that he would keep counting until the cows got tired of moving.
When debtors and creditors clashed, he was the trusted mediator who worked both sides to fashion a solution acceptable, sometimes grudgingly, to all.
He lived a full life and was 82 when he passed away. I miss my friend Forrest but he will not be forgotten.
His decades of dedicated work saved hundreds of Idaho’s farms, ranches and dairies. Many operations all across the southern swath of Idaho owe their existence today to this gentle, kind man from Hailey.
Steve Taggart is an Idaho Falls attorney specializing in bankruptcy (www.MaynesTaggart.com). He has an extensive background in politics and public policy. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
