James Albert Forde

James A. Forde, also known as Jim, Jimmy, Dad, and Poppy (his favorite), was born on January 23, 1927, in Brooklyn, NY to Edith Johnson and James G. Forde, both of Barbados, West Indies. Jim graduated from Boys High School in Brooklyn at an early age and combined full-time and part-time employment with part-time attendance at Brooklyn College. At the age of seventeen, he was probably the youngest person involved in the development of the atomic bomb that precipitated the end of World War II. He was employed as a lab assistant at the Manhattan Project from 1944-45 at its facility in New York. From 1946-1949, he worked in the early days of television for CBS. After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1949, he worked as a social worker for the City of New York.

When the Korean War started, Jim was drafted to serve in the Army. From September 1950 to August 1952, he served his country, and was eventually discharged with the rank of sergeant. Four days prior to being drafted, on September 21, 1950, he married Gaille Faulkner, at St. Peter Claver Church in Brooklyn, New York. Jim and Gaille had 2 daughters: Janice Olivia and Jacqueline Yvonne and thus, “The Original Fordes” moniker was born! Throughout the years, Jim and his family enjoyed many family vacations to the Caribbean, Grand Canyon, the Thousand Islands and more.

After the war, he obtained a master’s degree in public administration from the CCNY Baruch School of Business and Public Administration. In 1955, he began an extensive and successful career with the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, serving in a variety of administrative posts, including Budget Director, Director of Long Range Planning, and Assistant Commissioner for Local Services. During his 22 years with the department, he was the first African American to be appointed to a commissioner level position, the first non-physician director of a Department institution, and the First African American Regional Director. In 1977, he retired from the department while serving as one of the original Regional Directors to accept the position of Deputy Administrator of the Health Care Agency in the county of San Diego, California.

The overt discrimination in housing that Jim and Gaille faced in Albany, NY, led to his family settling in Schenectady. It also fueled his determination to work for health and lifestyle improvement for ethnic groups and the poor in Schenectady. He was a founding member of the Everest Club, an organization formed to provide scholarships for African American students. As Chairman of the Housing Committee of the local NAACP chapter, he co-authored and promoted the passage by the Schenectady City Council of the first municipal fair housing law in the country. As Chairman of a local community action agency, he obtained Federal funds to support a small health clinic in a low-income area of the city.

After only 2 years as Deputy Administrator of the Health Care Agency in San Diego County, the Departments of Mental Health, Public Health, and Substance Abuse were combined into a single Department of Health Services, and Jim was appointed the Director. At the time, he was the first non-physician and African American to hold that position. At a time when tobacco companies were free to advertise their products widely, and even physicians were endorsing specific brands of cigarettes, Jim was able to obtain Board of Supervisor approval to ban smoking in public places in the county. Another significant achievement during his tenure was the creation of a county-wide trauma system that was the first in California and among the first in the country.

Jim retired from the San Diego County Health Department in 1986 but continued his involvement in local and statewide activities dedicated to improving the health status of ethnic minorities and the poor. He was one of the founders of the San Diego Black Health Associates, and the California Black Health Network, local and statewide organizations with that goal. He was also active with the American Public Health Association, the Black Caucus of Health Workers, the San Diego Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities, and many other community organizations.

He began his third career as a travel agent that saw him and Gaille sailing on more than forty cruises all over the world. They especially liked the Caribbean, where they still had relatives in Barbados. Jim was an avid golfer and bowler, and a member of bridge clubs in San Diego, as well as Durham. He played bridge at least twice a week and hosted a monthly poker group until he passed.

Jim and Gaille enjoyed hosting their granddaughters during the summers at the “Forde Spa” or “Summer Camp,” as we used to call it. They took trips to Sea World, Universal Studios, the famous San Diego Zoo, played in the pool, and spent many a night playing Crazy Eights around the glass dining room table. And when Danielle was born, she continued the tradition of spending her summers with Grandy and Poppy.

In 2008, Jim and Gaille moved to Durham, North Carolina to be closer to Janice and her husband, Haynes. Being closer to his family allowed them to take part in more family activities such as weddings, birthdays, and graduations. His hearing aid was usually off and he was quick to fall asleep after eating, but he was with his family and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jim was a hard worker and instilled that work ethic into his daughters and granddaughters. One of his greatest prides was attending the college graduations of both of his daughters and all his granddaughters.

After Gaille passed away, Jim reached out to a friend from his past, Hattie Louise Miller-Riley. Louise, as Jim called her, began visiting, and their friendship soon grew to love. They were engaged to be married at the time of his passing.

The family would like to thank his caregivers, Emerson Reeves and Deborah Thompson, who lovingly cared for Jim over the past year.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, James G. and Edith Forde, and his soulmate of 69 years, Gaille. He leaves to cherish his memory: daughters, Janice (Haynes) Ross and Jacqueline (Gordon) Sullivan; his granddaughters: Nicole (Dave) Bonner, Stacy Ross, and Adrienne (Eric) Franzeim, Michele Myers, and Tara (Mark) Dickey; his great-grandchildren: Danielle Ortiz, Nola James, Jackson James, and Taylor; one niece, Lori Jackson; two nephews: Maurice (Rosie) Holland and Marc (Judy) Holland; fiancé, Louise Miller-Riley; and a host of great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, and friends from Durham, San Diego, New York, and beyond.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, in honor of Gaille, https://tinyurl.com/5xv7nyuc or the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, in honor of Adrienne, https://tinyurl.com/389ffrhp