Darby Forrester

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 11 a.m. at Leak Memory Chapel, 945 Lincoln Road, and the family will receive visitors from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. A private family graveside service will follow.

Darby was preceded in death by her parents, Tharpe Forrester, Jr. and Nancy Knighten Forrester. She is survived by her sister, Scottie Forrester Vickery; her brother-in-law, Stephen Vickery; her nephew, William Vickery, and his wife, Morgan; and her niece, Katherine Vickery McKinney, and her husband, David. She also leaves behind a host of cousins, friends, sorority sisters, co-workers, and neighbors.

Born in Montgomery, Darby was a 1981 graduate of St. James School, which she had attended since kindergarten. She earned a bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. She held a number of leadership roles in the sorority and was an extremely active and devoted member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Montgomery Alumnae chapter and the Montgomery Alumnae Panhellenic Council.

Darby was also a faithful member and former mayor of the Old Cloverdale Association and spearheaded a number of community activities, including the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Holiday Celebration in Cloverdale Park. She was instrumental in the formation of the Old Cloverdale Community Garden and helped organize annual home and garden tours, as well as other neighborhood events.

According to her colleagues, Darby was the heart and soul of the State of Alabama’s Personnel Department for 34 years. Upon her death, she was manager of the department’s Classification and Pay Division and oversaw the class and pay structure for Merit System employees. She was also actively involved in the National Association of State Personnel Executives and the National Compensation Association of State Governments, having served as a member of the Pay Practices Survey Committee, as well as past president of the organization.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Darby’s memory to the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation, P.O. Box 6269, Department 325, Indianapolis, IN 46206 or the Old Cloverdale Association, P.O. Box 6153, Montgomery, AL 36106.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Leak-MC.com for the FORRESTER family.