James Randall Forbes M.D.

James Randall Forbes, M.D. December 30, 1961-July 15, 2008 Age 46, died at Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) on July 15 of complications related to a form of bone cancer, which he had quietly and bravely fought for most of the past three years. Dr. Forbes, who lived with his family in Carmel, was a diagnostic and interventional radiologist and partner at Monterey Peninsula Radiological Medical Group. Dr. Forbes, known as Randy or simply J.R. to friends, was born in Honolulu, HI, in 1961 and raised in Northern California where he attended Justin-Siena High School in Napa. He received his B.A. in human biology with distinction from Stanford University in 1983. Randy flourished socially and academically at Stanford, where he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and perfected a knack for balancing work, recreation and friendships. After a year of laboratory research at Stanford, he traveled east to Harvard Medical School, where he received his M.D. in 1988. Randy fell in love in Boston; he married Alexandra Goldsmith Forbes on Martha's Vineyard in 1989. The couple moved to San Francisco together. Randy completed an internship in internal medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and served a residency in diagnostic radiology and a fellowship in musculoskeletal imaging at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. After that, Randy and Alex settled in Carmel where they raised their two children: Tucker and Maddie. In his medical practice, Randy was a compassionate and skilled doctor whose opinion was frequently sought by colleagues near and far. He pioneered the use of kyphoplasty for the treatment of spinal fractures within his radiology group, which is now a leading practitioner of this procedure. His patients appreciated the combination of deep caring and cutting-edge knowledge with which he helped them heal. While Randy was a gifted physician, those who knew him remember him best for the passionate engagement with which he maintained his friendships and pursued a broad array of interests. His family and many friends were the focus of his life but Randy also found joy in books, music, art, collecting eclectic items, travel, social observation, politics, word play, design and typography, mountain and road biking, food, surprising facts and baseball - not necessarily in that order. He sought to fill his life with the pursuits, people and things he loved and he encouraged others to do the same. Randy had the rare gift of being exceptionally talented at many things. None of his friends would have been surprised if Randy had ended up as an artist, a designer, a novelist or a media personality. Nothing seemed out of his reach. Even as Randy stoically confronted the pain and devastation of his disease over the last few years, he and his wife and children had the good fortune to share a series of memorable trips together to Italy, Thailand, India, Cambodia and Japan, where they watched Randy's boyhood favorites, the Oakland A's, take on his adopted, second favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Randy drew strength from his many, many friends and was able to spend time in his two family retreats in Chilmark, on the Vineyard, where he loved to trail ride for hours on end and to ride the surf at Lucy Vincent Beach, and at Lake Tahoe, where he hit the trails on skis and board. Most of those who knew Randy would agree that his greatest gift and contribution lay in his ability to make those around him feel special, to forge powerful bonds of friendship, and to help his friends connect with one another. During his illness, his friends established a website;(www.caringbridge.org/visit/randyforbes) that chronicled his journey and allowed friends, family and acquaintances to leave messages. Randy was active in the Stanford Alumni Association. He also served on the board of directors of the Margulis Society, a fundraising organization of radiology alumni and faculty of the University of California at S.F. Medical Center. Randy is survived by his wife Alexandra Goldsmith Forbes; his son James William Tucker Forbes (Tucker), 14; his daughter Madigan Alexandra Forbes (Maddie), 11; his mother Janice Forbes of Auburn; and her husband Ken Geil; his father James Forbes of Clayton; and his wife Jeri Forbes; his aunt and uncle, Joyce and David Armitage; his cousin Jennifer Withseidelin of New York City; his in-laws: Drs. William and Marianne Goldsmith; and Alex's siblings: Michael Goldsmith and Suzanne Goldsmith-Hirsch and their families. A Memorial Service and Celebration of his Life will be held at Stanford Memorial Church on August 18 at 4pm. Those who wish to remember Randy may visit the CaringBridge website for information about the Randy Forbes memorial fund.