Hersey Cecil Forehand III (Mac)

Mac came into the world in Bellows Falls, Vermont, on August 22, 1943, into the arms of his beloved mother, Janet Alice Dowlin Forehand (1921-2009). His father, Hersey Cecil Forehand Jr. (1920-2013), was an officer in the United States Coast Guard serving in World War II, thus the nickname “Mac,” a name sailors used for new friends and in this case used to set himself apart from his father.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sarah Kathleen Jones Forehand; his son, Hersey Cecil Forehand IV (Eric) and daughter-in-law, Lisa McNicol Forehand of Torrita di Siena (SI), Italy; and his daughter, Kathleen Middleton Hall (Kate, son-in-law, Thomas Robert Hall, and grandson, James Thomas Hall (Hoss) of Ester, AK.

Mac had one sister, Penelope Jill Diegelmann (1947-2017), and brother-in-law, Robert Diegelmann, of Richmond, VA; and two brothers, Steven Dowlin Forehand of Alexandria, VA, and William Stafford Forehand of Englewood, FL. Along with eight much-loved nieces and nephews and numerous grand nieces and nephews.

During his youth, Mac lived in various parts of the United States, but he always considered Norfolk, Virginia, his hometown, a true Southern gentleman at heart.

Mac met Sarah while attending The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where he obtained his BA in psychology and later an MBA in marketing. They were married in the Wren Chapel of William & Mary in 1965.

He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1966 until 1970, stationed in Groton, CT, and Virginia Beach, VA. After his service, he, Sarah, and their newborn son Eric settled into their first permanent home in Williamsburg, VA, where Kate was born a few years later.

He began a long career with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, working in Travel Marketing for the US and Europe, and later joined the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Agriculture as Director of Marketing.

After his children had married, Mac and Sarah moved to Boone in 1998, where he became director of the Boone Convention and Visitors Bureau until his retirement in 2010. For many years, Mac taught numerous travel-marketing classes at the Appalachian State University School of Business and was active in his much-loved Boone Sunrise Rotary Club.

On August 27, 2026, Mac Forehand passed in Boone after a lengthy illness. He will be greatly missed and remembered as a devoted husband, father, teacher, and friend, and for the many lives he touched through his work, service, friendship, and love.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Boone Sunrise Rotary Club at www.boonesunriserotary.org

Online condolences may be sent to the Forehand family at www.hamptonfunerlanc.com

Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.