James "Jim" Forsyth

1939 - 2024

James "Jim" Forsyth
12/06/1939 - 12/05/2024
Jim was born to Corrinna Harris Forsyth and James Delbert Forsyth on December 6, 1939, in Corinth, Mississippi, where he grew up. After graduating from the local high school, he went to Mississippi College, a small Baptist college in Clinton, Mississippi, where he earned a B.S. in accounting. He then attended the University of Mississipi School of Law in Oxford, graduating in 1964 with a J.D.
He joined the Navy in the fall of 1964, serving for four years as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General Corps. During his last two years in the Navy, he served as the legal officer aboard the USS Hancock, an aircraft carrier based in Alameda and deployed to Vietnam for two cruises. Having been introduced to the San Francisco Bay Area, he decided to make it home.
He joined the Internal Revenue Service as an estate tax attorney in 1969, conducting audits in the San Francisco area, as well as in the San Joaquin Valley and Monterey areas, until his resignation in 1983. From 1983 to 1993, he worked briefly with an investment firm, and then started his own tax preparation and consulting firm.
In May of 1993, he was asked to take responsibility for the Internal Audit program for the Episcopal Diocese of California. In 1997, he became the CFO of the Diocese, continuing in that role until his retirement in 2011. After retirement, he continued to work part time as CFO Emeritus, managing various projects for the Diocese. He served on the boards of the Bishop's Ranch and St. Dorothy's Rest camp and retreat facilities in Sonoma County, and Sojourn Chaplaincy at San Francisco General Hospital. He was also the treasurer of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in San Francisco.
During retirement, he loved researching and taking road trips to national parks and out of the way places in the west and northwest, where he would often meet and befriend interesting and unusual people. He also loved walking the neighborhoods of San Francisco. As a member of the Olympic club, he enjoyed socializing with his friends as well as doing his regular workouts there.
He is survived by his wife and best friend of 54 years, Carolyn Comin Forsyth. In his own words: "She has been a loving and supportive part of my life. The Best!"