Hamilton C. Forman

Forman, Hamilton C., 90, passed away of natural causes at his home in Fort Lauderdale, January 11, 2010. Born to South Florida pioneer parents, Hamilton M. and Blanche C. Forman, Ham ("June" or "Junior") as he was known when he was growing up, was one of Broward County's oldest living natives, having been born April 3, 1919. He is survived by two sons, Miles Austin Forman and Hamilton Collins Forman, Jr., their wives, Christine and Jennifer, respectively, grandchildren Miles, Lori, Timothy, Amanda, Nathaniel, William St. John, Alyssa and Daniel and great granddaughter, Chloe all of Fort Lauderdale. He also leaves behind two nieces, Beverly Bounds and Sandra Seims, as well as two nephews, Walter and Charles with their respective spouses and/or children. Hamilton's parents founded South Florida's first commercial dairy, Forman's Sanitary Dairy, on land they had bought sight-unseen before moving to Florida from East St. Louis, Illinois in 1910. Hamilton grew up on the Dairy, working the many jobs that the Dairy required in order for the cows to be milked twice a day, 365 days of the year. Of course, he milked cows, but he also prepared cows for milking, washed and sanitized bottles, ran the bottling plant, drove a milk truck, mended fences, fertilized the pastures, maintained the equipment, and kept the Dairy's books. Theirs was a close-knit family with just his parents, him and his older brother, Charles. They were indefatigable workers and lived by the philosophy that you could accomplish anything in life if you were willing to do all the work and let others have the credit. The farm life was difficult, particularly during the 1924 Florida land bust, the 1929 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression, then a World War. Hamilton seldom if ever arrived to school on time, but in his senior year of high school at Fort Lauderdale High, Hamilton was relieved of work responsibilities to be a teenager. He thrived, being student body president, president of the Key Club, and Captain of the Track and Football teams. In addition to being in the Senior Honor Society, he also was voted by his peers as "Most Brains" and "Most Prominence." In 1939, he went to Sierra Madre, California, near Los Angeles, to settle his grandmother's estate. While there he saw lots "in the desert.... near a cold ocean" selling for the outrageous price of $50 each. He marveled that people would pay such a price for a lot, but then again it was warm there. He imagined how popular a spot Fort Lauderdale could become with its lush vegetation, beautiful palm trees and warm water ocean. Upon his return, he convinced his family not to sell the Dairy until it was surrounded by the City of Fort Lauderdale. Then, with $1000 that he borrowed against a life insurance policy his parents had given him, he began buying Murphy Act land, tax deeds and foreclosed properties. To his delight, it wasn't long before the mockers in the recording office began calling him "Mr. Forman." During World War II, he served as night manager at ALCOA in Tennessee while attending the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He was later inducted into the Army Air Corps. While stationed at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, he met his sweetheart, Doris Marie Davis, a Society Editor for the Tampa Tribune at the USO and they were married on January 7, 1945. Also during the War, his parents were approached by the Navy about purchasing a part of their land for a pilot training facility. Arrangements were made for about 825 acres of improved pasture land to be transferred to the Federal Government for the construction of a wagon wheel shaped landing strip which was named "Forman Field." At the end of the war, the Navy offered it back to the family, but they were more interested in it being set aside for an educational complex, which it was. That land now houses the two Nova elementary grade schools, Nova middle and high schools, Broward College, campuses of Florida Atlantic University, the University of Florida and the McFatter Vocational/Technical campus, plus a police training academy and Nova Southeastern University with its Dolphin Training Facility, Law School, Medical School, Pharmacological School, Business School, etc. Though he was the only one in his family not to complete college, he received an honorary degree from the New York Institute of Technology after its merger with Nova University in the 1970's. The contributions to education made by the Forman family were some of those of which they were most proud. Hamilton and his brother, Charles, were also avid supporters of the Nova Oceanographic Center at the northern end of John U. Lloyd State Park. Shortly after the War, Hamilton, his father, brother and others successfully lobbied the Congress for the creation of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District, the predecessor of the South Florida Water Management District. In so doing, the western 2/3 of Broward County was set aside as a permanent reservoir for agricultural and municipal water supply. The rest of the state followed suit, so that now the entire state is covered by such water management districts. Hamilton, his brother Charles, and their wives also donated 250 acres on Tampa Bay to Hillsborough County for the creation of E. G. Simmons Recreational Park. In 1955, when the Turnpike divided the Dairy and Hamilton sold several hundred acres of it to a rock miner/road builder, the family closed the Dairy, and Hamilton turned his full attention to politics and philanthropy. For the first time in his life, except for his senior year in high school, Hamilton was able to turn his full attention to his wife and two sons: Austin, who had been born in 1947 and Collins who had been born in 1952. He was now able attend and to get active in his local church, to own a boat and pursue deep sea fishing, to get involved in Scouting, and to pursue a myriad of educational and social interests in which he had been able to have only a superficial involvement before. In 1961, Hamilton was appointed by Governor Farris Bryant to the post of Commissioner of the North Broward Hospital District, and he proudly served on that Board in numerous capacities for 28 years under six governors. Under his leadership, the NBHD closed the all-black Provident Hospital with its sub-standard service to blacks, and amid protests from the staffs of both hospitals and being picketed by the NAACP, he successfully integrated Broward General Hospital, earning it the distinction of being the first hospital district in the South to be fully accredited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Later it would acquire the land for and build Imperial Point Medical Center and Coral Springs Medical Center. In 1965, he and his nuclear family took their first major overseas trip which lasted nearly three months. They visited the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Japan. After that, he and Doris were bit by the travel bug, and before her death in 1999, they had visited 120 countries together. As long as he was able, Hamilton traveled to the remote parts of the globe seeking to learn about and experience the rich diversity of cultures, flora and fauna in this world. Hamilton got active in local and state politics. He helped mentor and elect dozens of senators and representatives to Congress, the State House, and he also aided local city and County politicians, as well as County and Circuit judges obtain and maintain public office. In the early 1970s, he helped assimilate a large population of northeastern retirees into the political scene of Broward County. By giving these new residents a seat at the table, Hamilton was able to return control of local politics to the Democratic Party, of which he was a life-long member. For many years, aspiring young and not so young politicians beat a path to his door to seek his counsel and his support in their election bids. He and his older son Austin succe