http://osxdaily.com/2010/08/10/forgot-mac-password-how-to-reset-mac-password/
In case this that post is ever removed, here are the steps:
Restart the Mac holding down the Command+S keys, this will take you into Single User Mode and its Terminal interface
type:
mount -uw /
type:
rm /var/db/.applesetupdone
type:
reboot
This worked very well for me and allowed me to create a new account on the Mac and did *not* delete the existing data already on the Mac on the user whose password we did not know.