Former Maryland State Senator Jennie Margaret Meador Forehand, who represented Montgomery County for over 35 years,’passed away on October 3, 2023, at age 87, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease according to an obituary posted on orileybranson.com
Per the obituary, “Jennie was born in Nashville, TN and grew up in Charlotte, NC where she met her husband Bill in 7th grade. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, married in 1958 and moved to Maryland in 1961. After Jennie’s retirement from public service in 2014, she and Bill moved to Indianapolis, IN.
Jennie was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, played the piano ‘by ear’, and was an endless source of energy and inspiration to her friends and colleagues. During her 36 years as a legislator in Annapolis, MD she represented Montgomery County Maryland’s 17th District (Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Garrett Park). Jennie was a force of nature and tirelessly focused her work on the Rights of Women, Safety from Human Trafficking, Health issues (physical fitness, nutrition, smoke free environments); Rights of Senior Citizens; and Promotion of the Arts and Art communities.
Her strong advocacy was a major force in bringing about the Baltimore Oriole’s stadium smoking restriction; Maryland’s ‘no smoking in public places’ law; the construction of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital; the Rockville Library; the Rockville Senior Center; the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA); the District Court House; and the Inter-County Connector Highway (ICC).
Jennie is survived by her husband Bill; daughter Virginia (Tom) Horn of Indianapolis, IN; son John (Heidi) Forehand of Chicago, IL, and 4 grandsons, Bill (Cali), Brian, Eric and Noah. There will be a private burial at a later date. Services entrusted to O’Riley Branson Funeral Service and Crematory, 6107 S. East Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to: Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation at: https://peerlessrockville.org/support/in-memory-of-jennie-forehand/ Please visit www.OrileyBranson.com to share a favorite memory or to sign the online guest registry.”