In 1935, he married Harriett Swales of Leonardtown, Maryland, at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Church. That same year, he began working for Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company. He went from a line crew foreman to a senior-level manager. He retired in 1976. He and his wife of 74 years raised and educated five children. All five of the children went on to post-secondary education. George G. Forrest, the first African American Executive for St. Mary’s County is his son.

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Schools and educations were his passion. Dr. Forrest was a member of the Cardinal Gibbons Institute Foundation Board. He played a vital role in the desegregation of St. Mary’s County public schools in the mid-60s. Because of his role in the constitutional action, he was appointed by then-governor Marvin Mandel to the St. Mary’s County Board of Education and later became the first African American to serve as its president. Under his leadership, several new high, middle, and elementary schools were constructed, including the Career and Technology Center, which now bears his name, the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center. He anonymously gave scholarships to African American youth in St. Mary’s County for many years.

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Forrest’s service to his community was not limited to the educational arena. He was active in his church. He was a charter member of the St. Mary’s County Branch of the NAACP

 

A widely respected figure in Southern Maryland, Forrest not only worked for the good of the African American community but for peaceful relations and better understanding between the black and white communities. His leadership was expressed by the many executive boards he served on including St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Mary’s Home for the Elderly, and he served as a bailiff in the Juvenile Court of St. Mary’s County.

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James Forrest was interviewed in his home in Leonardtown by UCAC volunteer, Bob Lewis, on February 25, 2003.