Horatio James Forbes, Jr.

Horatio James Forbes Jr. was born August 19, 1929 in Meridian, MS, the son of Horatio J. Forbes Sr. and Bessie Plummer Forbes. He spent his formative years in Huntsville, Alabama where his family had moved.

After graduating from Huntsville High School in 1947, he attended Georgia Tech and graduated with a BS Industrial Engineering degree in 1952. A few months before his graduation from Georgia Tech, he married Lois Claire Pendery, daughter of George Willard and Lillian Fries Pendery of Decatur.

After graduating from Georgia Tech, he spent two years in the United States Army and saw service in Korea. After his military service he was employed by the Coca Cola Company in the Engineering Department in Atlanta. While at Coca Cola, he invented a soda fountain beverage dispenser that was then patented by the company in 1963.

He was later employed by Lockheed Georgia Corporation, again in the Engineering Department at the Marietta plant where he worked on the C-141, C-130 and C-5 projects. When the C-5 project began to phase out, he looked for other opportunities and joined Wells Fargo Armored Service Corporation in Atlanta, where he spent the next nineteen years serving initially as a Sales Representative before becoming a Regional Sales Manager and ultimately the Regional Operations Manager before retiring in February 1996. After only a few months in retirement, he became restless and began a second career with the Cummins Allison Corporation in their Atlanta office where he spent the next nine years in sales.

He retired a second time in December 2003 and permanently moved with Lois from their Decatur home to their condo in Flagler Beach, FL. In 2009 they returned to Georgia and spent the next 8 years in Evans, GA before moving back to the Atlanta area, where they lived in Canton, Ga for the remainder of his life.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his only sibling, brother Charles Alan Forbes of Charlotte, NC. He is survived by Lois Pendery Forbes, his wife of 68 years, 4 daughters - Vicki F. Carlton (Dick) Canton, Ga; Leslie F. Gurley (Bryan) of Marietta Ga., Pendery F Lites (Ram Mendez). Duluth Ga., Diane F. Knowles (Tim) of Evans Ga.; 4 grandchildren - Matthew Forbes Carlton, Courtney G. Cheaves (Jared), Erin Louise Knowles, Logan William Knowles; and 1 great grandchild - McKenzie Lee Cheaves, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jim was active in several community organizations through the years including the Atlanta Jaycees, the Twin Lakes Community Association, The Nautilus Management Association and The Amberley Homeowners Association, where he held various offices and spent many happy hours working with others to achieve those organizations’ goals.

He began to play golf with friends and family after moving to Florida but he never came close to shooting his age! He always spoke about how proud he was of his four daughters and his favorite things to do was to enjoy his large family including Bree, his loving little Shih Tzu and to sip on an occasional goblet of good scotch.

In lieu of flowers, only if you wish, then make a small donation to your favorite charity in Jim’s name.