Carol Forrester was a stickler for neatness and organization.
How much so? Her sister, Nancy Lewallen of Gainesville, said when she would set a date for the two of them to get together for lunch, Mrs. Forrester would ask, "Pen or pencil?" In other words, was the date firm enough for Mrs. Forrester to make an ink entry in her datebook or was it so iffy she might have to erase it?
Mrs. Forrester turned her talent for orderliness into a business called Life Made Simple. From her home in Atlanta, she advised clients on a wide range of problems -- how to organize a closet, a kitchen, paper and computer files, even event planning.
"Carol had amazing organizational skills and a winning personality," said her cousin, Hugh Grant of Brooklyn, N.Y. "Whatever the task, she had the can-do attitude and the smarts to pull it off."
Carol Maddox Forrester, 42, died Friday at Hospice Atlanta of a brain tumor. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m.Tuesday at Northside United Methodist Church. H.M. Patterson and Son, Spring Hill, is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Emory Brain Tumor Center of Winship Cancer Institute, Office of Gift Records, Emory University, 1762 Clifton Road N.E., Suite 1400, Atlanta GA 30322.
Born and reared in Atlanta, Mrs. Forrester graduated from Lovett School. Not long after earning a degree from the University of Kentucky, she set out for California. "Carol had a sense of adventure and wanted to make a career for herself on her own," said her other sister, Helen Menefee of Decatur.
In Los Angeles she worked for California Closets and the William Morris talent agency. She made appearances as an extra in two television series, "90210″ and "Full House."
After the death of her father, William Maddox III, she returned to Atlanta and was a principal support for their mother, Mrs. Menefee said. "But all three of us daughters made it an annual custom to take Mom with us for a week's stay at a Tucson [Ariz.] resort -- just us girls hanging together," she said.
Upon her return to Atlanta, Mrs. Forrester met Carlton Forrester, and the two were married in 2003. An all-America golfer at Georgia Tech, Mr. Forrester continued to compete in major amateur tournaments around the country, and Mrs. Forrester was in the gallery for most of them. "She was my biggest fan," he said.
Mrs. Forrester was already a longtime Masters aficionado, having attended numerous tournaments at Augusta National with her father. She resumed the custom with her husband, rooting especially for former Tech greats Matt Kuchar and Stewart Cink, her husband said.
From age 5, Mrs. Forrester had a love affair with horses. She learned to ride at Westminster Stables, received training at Camp Greystone in North Carolina and competed in equestrian shows around the Southeast.
"Carol, at 5 feet, 11 inches, made quite an imposing figure atop her horse Daweena, who also was tall," Mrs. Menefee said. "Daweena was a challenge to handle, having been trained in Germany to obey commands in German. Carol tried to teach her some English commands, but without much success."
After taking a fall off a horse a year after her first child was born, Mrs. Forrester reluctantly gave up her equestrian activities, her husband said. "It wasn't because she was afraid," he said. "She just felt her responsibilities as a mother were more important than her enjoyment of riding."
Survivors also include her two sons, Carlton Forrester Jr., 4 years old, and Henry Forrester, 1 year old; and her mother, Helen Maddox of Atlanta.
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