James Forrester

James Summers Forrester (January 8, 1937 – October 31, 2011) was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-first senate district, including constituents in the Iredell, Gaston and Lincoln counties. A physician from Stanley, North Carolina, Forrester died while serving his eleventh term in the state senate, in which he also served as Deputy President Pro Tempore.

Personal life Forrester was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of Jim Forrester, a professional golfer. His father died in 1938 when his son was 18 months old. Forrester graduated from New Hanover High School in 1954. Forrester earned a bachelor's degree in science from Wake Forest University in 1958 and his medical degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1962 and a Master's in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978. On March 12, 1960, he married Mary Frances All; together they had four children. Forrester also served in the North Carolina Air National Guard, and participated in the Vietnam War as a flight physician. Forrester also ran a private practice for family medicine in Gaston County, North Carolina. Forrester died on October 31, 2011, at age of 74. Forrester responded that "If there's anything falsified on my records it was inadvertently done." He added that "The gay and lesbian community is looking for anything they can to discredit me."