Dorothy “Dot” Forbus

Amory – Dorothy K. “Dot” Forbus, 81, of Amory, Mississippi, died Tuesday, May 17, in Franklin, Tennessee.
Visitation will be 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 21, 2022, at First Baptist Church of Amory. The service will follow.

Years ago, Dot read an austere obituary, and declared to her family, “I want my obit to say more than ‘She was a Baptist and a homemaker!’” And while she was both an impeccable homemaker and a steadfast Baptist, that may well be the least one could say about Dot Forbus.

A preacher’s daughter, Dot loved old hymns and Christmas music, as well as Il Divo, the operatic quartet and the a cappella group Pentatonix. She loved detail and beauty, and pursued those ends with her uncanny ability to see potential in unusual items, and incorporate them into extraordinary decorations, for her dinner table, a church sanctuary, or whatever opportunity arose.

In the kitchen she was Rembrandt, inordinately skilled and unintimidated by breadth and scale. She loved nothing more than spending days over a hot stove creating sumptuous meals because it meant having family, friends, and laughter fill the home. She never failed to buy slightly less chicken broth than she needed because it would give antsy menfolk an excuse to get out of the house for a trip to Wally’s.

Her greatest concern was for her loved ones. Family was paramount. Dot’s life revolved around her husband, Bob, her children, Scott and Robyn, and their families, particularly her grandchildren Rob, Wes, Addie, Matt, and Grant, and her great-grandchildren Theo, Aury, Brooks, Greta, and Wells. Dot’s idea of family included her closest friends – Jean Sanders, Steve Stockton, and the late Ellen Boyd – who were always up for an adventure.

Among the most significant of these have been Sam Haskell’s Entertainment for Education, on which she spent countless hours, serving as a member of the Governing Board of Stars over Mississippi and the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell Scholarship Foundation, which has awarded scholarships for deserving high school seniors, and was a driving force in the inception of the Miss Mississippi Volunteer Project, serving on its board of directors.

Dot cherished her work with young women in the pageant world, as she could glean their potential and help them realize their own beauty inside and out.

Survivors include her husband of 58 years, Bob Forbus, Amory; daughter Robyn Lehman (Gregg), Franklin, Tennessee; son Scott Forbus, Atlanta, Georgia; daughter-in-law Stacy Forbus, Amory; sister Juanita Tubb; grandchildren Wes Boock (Caroline), Rob Forbus (Caitlin), Addie Forbus (Trey), Matt Lehman (Amber), Grant Lehman (Beth); and great-grandchildren Theo Lehman, Aury Lehman, Brooks Lehman, Greta Lehman, and Wells Boock.

She was preceded in death by her father, William Ollie Knight; mother Effie Jane Knight; and brothers Ralph, Herbert, Hubert, and Max.

Pallbearers: J.B. Darnell, Frank Durrett, Michael Grimes, Benny Randle, Danny Sanders, and Steve Stockton. Honorary pallbearers: Sam Haskell and E.G. Warren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell Scholarship Foundation.

Please share your memories and condolences with her family at eepicklefuneralhome.com