Jason Graham Forrester
15 Jan 1970 - 18 Aug 1989
Jason Graham Forrester was born in San Diego on 15 Jan 1970. His parents, Gordon and Carolyn Forrester, moved the family to the Azalea area just a few years later. Jason was one of three children. Along with his older sister, Tascha, and younger brother, Joshua, they became students at Glendale.
Jason always liked to play sports in elementary school so it was no surprise that he excelled in high school. In fact, Jason was an all around athlete playing football, wrestling and baseball. He played football all four years and was both the kicker and all-league quarterback by his senior year. But the season wasn't over for Jason when football ended. He was also an outstanding wrestler. One year he took 3rd place in the State Wrestling Tournament and his senior year he was District Champion. In fact his wrestling accomplishments were so well known that a District trophy was established in his name. The Jason Graham Forrester trophy is awarded each year to an outstanding wrestler in the district. And the Glendale school had such high regard for his accomplishments in football that they retired his jersey with the number 10. It can be seen in the trophy case at Glendale High School.
As
if sports didn't keep him busy enough, Jason could also be found wherever help
was needed on any other school activity. A
handful of students spent many late hours decorating the high school's hallway
during homecoming, preparing skits and banners, and doing all that could be done
to keep up the school spirit. Jason
found time to help with many of those activities as well.
He was very artistic and always used his artistic abilities wherever they
could be helpful. When it came time
to decorate for the 1988 graduation Jason was there too.
Working until the job was done. In
fact, in all of his activities at school and at home, he was always someone that
could be depended upon to be there and help make the task fun.
Upon graduation he moved to Klamath Falls and began taking courses at Oregon Institute of Technology. When summer arrived in 1989 Jason came home from school and got a job in the woods. An indication of Jason's lack of fear and willingness to try new adventures was that he worked those summer months as a tree climber/faller…one of the most dangerous jobs around.
The friends and family of Jason lost him on 18 Aug 1989 to an automobile accident. He was laid to rest in a cemetery on Garden Valley Blvd near Roseburg. While the following words below are from one of his classmates they could be echoed many times over by other friends and family:
There have been
mornings where I lie awake after dreaming of an old friend, wondering if I've a
actually just spoken with him, or does my heart miss him so deeply that my
dreams have taken me to see him to avoid another heart break. I can't possibly be the only one who misses Jason every time
he crosses my mind. I can't possibly be the only one who dreams of him like he's
still with us…laughing and spending time together. I've often wondered if God eases our grief by giving us
pleasant dreams of those He's taken home. Pleasant
or not, it still hurts when the dream is over.
I miss you Jason.
I miss the days and years I never got to spend with you.
I miss your laughter...what a great friend you were...what a wonderful
person. I suppose God used you to
touch our lives and then took you back to the place from where you came.
Now we are left with a memory to ponder…a memory of a person that can
never be replaced. The friendship
and sincerity you offered are qualities that are hard to find.
I look forward to the day when we meet again...we have a lifetime of
laughter to catch up on. You are
deeply missed. In memory of Jason
Forrester, Class of 1988.
Anna (Moriarty) Mehl
The
music playing is The Flame by Cheap Trick