MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hopson, Blackwell, Branning, Clarke, Fillingane, McMahan, Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th), Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF ROBERT SHARP FORSTER OF OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE TO HIS FAMILY.
WHEREAS, it is with sadness that we note the passing of Robert Sharp Forster on November 12, 2015, at age 70. Robert's civic energy and contributions to the State of Mississippi are a matter of record; and
WHEREAS, born on June 24, 1945, in San Salvador, El Salvador, Robert was the son of the late Franz Forster and the late Inez Sharp Forster. Robert grew up in Guatemala City, Guatemala. At the age of 15 he moved to Berwick, Maine, to attend boarding school and thereafter built his life in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Robert earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire and a law degree from the University of Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Robert was Chief Operations Officer of the Mississippi Small Business Development Center (MSBDC). For many years he served Pan-American Life Insurance Company in New Orleans, Louisiana, in varying capacities, finally as General Counsel; and
WHEREAS, Robert's energy and enthusiasm for all that life offered were remarkable. He loved people and was known to strike up a conversation anywhere; he also loved dogs, dachshunds especially, and adopted many over the years; and
WHEREAS, Robert traveled broadly throughout the course of his life and was delighted by new experiences. He was especially fond of the elderly, with whom he spent countless hours in conversation. Perhaps most of all, he was notable for the thousands of small kindnesses, known and unknown, that he extended to friends, family and strangers over the decades; and
WHEREAS, Robert is survived by his wife, Ann Millsaps Forster; children, Elizabeth Lindsey Forster of Houston, Texas, and Robert (Kathryn) Sharp Forster, Jr., of Los Angeles, California; grandchildren, Augusta Wilson Forster and Griffin Fairfax Forster; niece, Ivanna Forster Novella; and stepchildren, Katherine Wallace Dowdle (Jed) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Gray Wallace of Starkville, Mississippi. Robert was preceded in death by his sister, Frances Sharp Forster; and
WHEREAS, Robert served as a leader and mentor and we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the passing of Robert Sharp Forster of Oxford, Mississippi, Chief Operations Officer of the Mississippi Small Business Development Center, and extend the sympathy of the Legislature to his family.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Robert Forster, forwarded to the Mississippi Small Business Development Center and the Office of the Governor, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.