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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Crash takes life of Mesa (AZ) Bishop
(Mesa) AZ Tribune pgA3 22Apr00 D2
[Thanks to Lee R Allred for this article.]
MESA, ARIZONA -- LDS Bishop William Forrest lost his life in an
automobile accident on Friday, according a report in the Arizona
Tribune. Forrest, a native of Pocatello, Idaho and father of seven,
collided with a tractor-trailer hauling gravel.
The Tribune article praised Forrest for his willingness to drop
everything to help others. According to the report, two of Forrest's
children had returned home from college the previous day, but he
immediately responded to a phone call from a friend in order to help a
teenage boy prepare for his newly-received mission assignment.
Family friend and neighbor Richard Gulbrandsen said, "He was always
where he needed to be. Bill was an individual you could always could
on."
Forrest served an LDS mission to Madrid, Spain from 1971 to 1973 before
attending BYU, where he met his wife, Debbie. They moved to Mesa in
1991, where Forrest was soon involved in supportin the Cub Scouts and
providing 20 hours of service weekly to the Estate Groves Ward of the
LDS Church.
The night before he died, Forrest was hard at work preparing for events
associated with his responsibilities as a Bishop. He was to perform a
wedding on Friday evening and oversee a baptism on Saturday. He met
with several church members Thursday evening, according to Gulbrandsen,
in spite of plans he had made to be with his family, "You don't find
people so dedicated to their family and community and neighborhood,
"Gulbrandsen said. "It's a real tragedy."
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