Robert Brooks Forester

Robert (Bob) Brooks Forester passed away Sunday, May 31, 2026, at the Idaho State

Veterans Home in Boise.

Bob was born Feb. 8, 1957, in West Covina, Calif., to Brooks E. and Lorene L. (Hewitt)

Forester and was raised in Palm Springs, Calif., where his father owned Accredited

Special Patrol and Detective Agency. Growing up, Bob was an avid Boy Scout, working

his way from cub scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout by leading a project that created

some of the first walking paths at the Living Desert Reserve. He loved the outdoors and

often reminisced about adventures he went on with Boy Scouts such as climbing the

two highest peaks in California and an open water canoe trip to the Channel Islands.

Bob grew up helping his father (a WWII US Marine Veteran) with his security company

in the Palm Springs area. He loved sharing his stories of his days on patrol and the

various celebrities and VIPs that he had met over the years. One of his favorite stories

was when he was chased by a baboon that had gotten loose at the bottom of the Aerial

Tramway in Palm Springs.

Bob aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps by playing football and serving as a United

States Marine. He played baseball and tennis and was on the Palm Springs High

School football team. He joined the Marines at age 17, completing bootcamp and

service at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. Bob suffered injury during his service and was

honorably discharged as a Private First Class. After discharge from the Marines, he

returned to Palm Springs, attending college and working various jobs from managing a

pizza restaurant to working at a Texaco service station. He took art classes in college

and was a good artist. He worked and volunteered for Cabot’s Museum in Desert Hot

Springs. He also supported the Mulki Museum and traveled across the Southwest with

Doris Schofield, a Native American artist who was like a second mother to him. He

made and sold sandstone pipes and beadwork as well as sang and played drums at

Pow Wows.

During his time in California, Bob also learned to fly and taught flying lessons at the

Palm Springs Airport. He met his wife, Michelle, through his work flying with Bill Piper at

Oasis Air Services. Bob and Michelle were married on June 2, 1990. The couple moved

from Desert Hot Springs to Boise in 1992 to be closer to her family in Idaho.

When Bob began working for an office products company in the 1980s in California, he

found a career that he would pursue until retiring from Office Max as manager of the

Boise warehouse.

Bob loved telling stories, gardening, working on house projects, and volunteering for the

community. He was a Scout master for a scout troop in Palm Springs. For many years

in Idaho, he helped clean up Boise Cascade Lake in Veterans Park and assisted with

events at Zoo Boise such as Boo at the Zoo. He enjoyed playing Santa Claus for

Fisher’s Office Products families. He also enjoyed helping with events at the Idaho

Botanical Gardens, such as playing Alice in Wonderland’s White Rabbit. At the Boise

VA, he led a variety of classes and support groups for veterans.

He is survived by his loving wife, Michelle (Kidder) Forester, and her family, and by his

sister, Sandra. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, and his brother, Brooks

C. Forester. His big smile and sense of humor, which he kept until his final days, will be

greatly missed by his family. His family would like to thank the staff at the Idaho State

Veterans Home Memory Care Unit for all the care they gave Bob in his final years.

A service will be held at noon Friday, June 26, 2026, at Summers Funeral Home on

Ustick Road with internment to follow at 2 p.m. at the Idaho State Boise Veterans

Cemetery. A reception will be held at Summers Funeral Home following the internment.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Bob’s memory to Zoo Boise,

Scouts of America, Wounded Warriors, Toys for Tots, or the Idaho Veterans Home.