Marcial Davidson Forester

Marcial Davidson Forester, a longtime Jackson resident, a respected petroleum engineer, and a leader in Mississippi's oil and gas industry, died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, at St. Dominic – Jackson Memorial Hospital, following a brief illness. He was 86.

He was born Dec. 18, 1925, in Wharton, Tex., the youngest of three children of Oscar Franklin Forester, a banker, and his wife, the former Ara Joyce Cook. In 1929 the family moved to Smithville, Tex. Marcial graduated from Smithville High School, where he was a member of both the football team and the marching band.

In June 1943, having been accepted to the University of Texas, he postponed college and followed his older brother into military service during WWII. Too young for basic training, he enlisted in the Army Services Training Program taking engineering courses, first at LSU and later at Oklahoma A&M. After basic training at Camp Roberts, Calif., he served with the 97th Infantry Division, 386th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion Headquarters Company in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia from January to April 1945, and in Japan following the war. He was honorably discharged as a sergeant in 1946.

In 1950 he graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. The same year he married Gladys Edwina Maresh, also of Smithville. The couple moved to Refugio, Tex., where Marcial was employed as an engineer for J. Collier Hurley's Grace Oil Co. until it closed in 1964. He then joined Miss-Tex Oil Producers in Palestine, Tex., drilling and operating wells in East Texas and Mississippi. Marcial and Gladys and their four children moved to Jackson in 1965. In 1968 he was hired as an engineer by Triad Oil & Gas Co., Inc., which provided oil and gas well operating and engineering consulting services. He served as president of the company from 1970 to 1995, and was one of the founders of an affiliated energy services construction company, Clarkco Contractors, Inc. After retiring from Triad, he remained active as a consulting petroleum engineer and expert witness until August 2011.

His professional affiliations included the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, and the Mississippi Geological Society. An avid golfer, he was a member of Colonial Country Club and Annandale Golf Club. He was a member and deacon of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Marcial and Gladys were longtime patrons of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and New Stage Theatre, and members of the Capital City Petroleum Club and University Club. He was a proud member of the Texas Exes alumni association.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Ara Frances Forester; and his brother, Oscar Franklin Forester, Jr.

He is survived by his wife, Gladys, with whom he celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in July 2011; by his sons Mike Forester, of Jackson; Marcy Forester and his wife, Margaret Anne, also of Jackson; Mitch Forester and his wife, Stephanie, of Meridian; and by his daughter, Marcia Richardson, and her husband, Scott, of Nashville. He also leaves seven grandchildren: Davidson Forester and his wife, Angela, of Oxford; Matthew Forester and Andrew Forester of Jackson; Maggie Forester and Katherine Forester of Meridian; and William Richardson and Kathleen Richardson of Nashville.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, at 11:30 a.m., at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, 620 Briarwood Drive, Jackson, with visitation at the church at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Briarwood Presbyterian Church, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, or a charity of one's choosing.