Casa Grande basketball coach James Forni, 35, dies after battle with cancer

Even when Casa Grande High School coach and teacher James Forni became ill, he continued to focus on his students and kept his positive attitude that belied a serious battle with cancer.

Colleagues and students recalled his dedication in the face of an eight-year fight with melanoma that took his life Sunday morning. He was 35.

“He was truly in a life-and-death struggle and you would never know it,” Casa Grande Principal Linda Scheele said. “It was all about his teaching and coaching, and he wanted to be there for the kids.”

Scheele said it was impossible to calculate the impact Forni, the varsity basketball coach and physical education teacher, had in his dozen years working at Casa Grande.

“He has touched so many students, faculty members and members of the community,” she said.

Role model, inspiration, loved and respected and ultimately a fighter. Those were some of the descriptions that poured forth Sunday as news of Forni’s passing spread quickly through Petaluma, where he was a member of a well-known family with longtime ties to the community.

Athletic Director Rick O’Brien said Forni, a good friend, taught students and athletes “what it was to be a good person and to strive and treat everyone with dignity and integrity. And he touched so many.”

Forni grew up in Petaluma and attended Casa Grande from 1994 to 1998, playing football, basketball and volleyball before going on to play tight end at the College of Marin, a stint as a walk-on at the University of Oregon and wide receiver at the University of Redlands.

By 2003, he was back at Casa Grande, working as an assistant varsity football coach, junior varsity head basketball coach and teaching P.E.

In 2004, he took over as head varsity basketball coach, staying through this past season and winning league championships along the way.

“His teams were always competitive, near the top of the league,” football coach Trent Herzog said.

Ron Petroni, a retired Casa Grande teacher and football coach, said Forni was his student, played for him and also was his colleague.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone so young impact so many lives,” he said. “He had a passion about life that was contagious. I’m sure everyone that played for him, or his students, appreciated him.”

Scheele said Forni was one of those teachers who sought out struggling students to make sure they didn’t slip through the cracks. For example, he made one student his teacher’s aide because the boy was having trouble and Forni wanted to make sure he would graduate.

“He was always professional and a gentleman. He treated students with respect and received the same love and respect back from his athletes and students,” she said.

“He was just a really genuine, kind-hearted person,” said J.J. Anderson, the starting quarterback on the Casa Grande varsity football team, who also plays center on the basketball team. “He’d straight-up talk to you when you messed up, and congratulate you when you did something good.”

Anderson said he could go to Forni for advice on almost anything.

“He influenced me to work hard and want more than sports and education - to be like a good man and further myself in life, rather than just living,” Anderson said.

During Forni’s struggle with melanoma, which began with a mole on his back and spread to his lymph nodes, he endured debilitating chemotherapy and radiation. His 6-foot-5 frame went from 210 pounds down to 157 pounds at one point before he recovered some of his weight.

At times he had to miss practices, but his basketball players said witnessing his courage and fortitude gave them strength and maturity.

Forni said he was buoyed by strong support from friends, family and even strangers who lent him words of encouragement when he spoke publicly about his fight with cancer.

“Sports teaches resilience. Life knocks you down, but you can bet your last dollar I’ll get up and keep fighting,” he told Press Democrat sports columnist Bob Padecky in 2012. “That’s what sports has taught me. You fight. You adapt. You adjust. You find out how tough you are.”

And, he added, “I couldn’t be happier.”

Forni is survived by his wife, Mary, parents Jim and Jan Forni, brother Chris Forni and sister Jill Forni, all of Petaluma.