George Forrester passes away

George C. Forrester, president of Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation, died on Thursday at his home in Kenwood at the age of 69. Educated in New England at Exeter and then at Yale, Forrester had made his career in wealth management. He retired in 1992 as managing director of Northern Trust of California in Newport Beach, then moved to Sonoma County, where he became a major force behind the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home.
Foundation board member Marcy Smothers remembers the evening she met Forrester, at a fundraiser in 1999, an event that would change all their lives. “Nancy and John Lasseter had given a special screening of Toy Story 2,” she said. “George didn’t know about the Children’s Home, but he just went to the event because he’d heard about it in the newspaper.” During the course of the evening, as he listened to the experiences of children such as Nick Rose, a runaway Smothers had found and helped in 1989, Forrester became profoundly concerned. “The next day, George called the Children’s Foundation and came and gave us a check for a $150,000. That’s 1999 dollars!” she said. He joined the board and subsequently became president of the foundation, a post he held until his death.
“It was his leadership that took us from that fundraiser, to where we are now,” said Smothers, explaining that the children’s home is a public/private partnership, and the only 24-hour residence in Sonoma County for abused, abandoned and neglected children. “The county gave us the land and provided us the infrastructure and most of the money,” she said. “They’re now finishing Phase Three, the administrative component, with toddler care and a dental clinic. So the construction that you can see from Rt 12, behind the children’s home, is that. George was hoping to be there for the ribbon cutting,” she said, “but sadly, he didn’t make it.”
Born in Sewickley, Penn., Forrester died in the company of his wife, Sheila. He is also survived by his brother Robert R. Forrester III; his daughter Katherine F. Westerman and her children Brittany, Lissa, Averi, and Jackson; his daughter, Jane C. Forrester and her children Makenna, Parker, and Tucker; and his son, Charles C. Forrester and his daughter Audrey.