Sylvia Kaye Brown Forrester

Sylvia Kaye Brown Forrester passed away Sunday, December 6 at her home in Columbia, Alabama after a lengthy battle with chronic lung disease related to Sjogren’s Syndrome. She was born in Meridian, Mississippi on September 29, 1946 to William Morris and Kathryn McLaughlin Brown. She graduated from Kosciusko High School in 1964 and Auburn University in 1968. During college, she met and married her husband of 50 years, Glenn Wayne Forrester. In 1970, they settled in Columbia where her husband’s family farmed; she lived there until her death.

While growing up in Mississippi, most of Sylvia’s activities revolved around school and church. In high school, she was president of the Y-Teens and played flute in high school band. This commitment required hours of work, sweat, and sometimes tears since her section usually received all superiors in competitions, according to childhood classmates. After graduation from high school, Sylvia, her brother, and mother returned to her maternal homeplace in Wakulla County, Florida. She and her aunt, Sue, (who was more like a sister) worked in Tallahassee before enrolling in Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida where Sylvia met Glenn. She and Glenn married on December 18, 1966 and moved to Auburn. They were active in the Baptist Student Union and made lifelong friends.

After graduation from Auburn, she briefly taught school in Georgia and Florida until becoming a full-time homemaker. For 18 years, she raised 4 children, demanding their best every step of the way. Her family was active at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Columbia where she led Acteens and WMU and taught Bible Drill and Sunday School for many years. Her husband, Glenn, was the love of her life, and in 2015 they were confirmed in the Episcopal Church at Church of the Ascension in Carrabelle, Florida, which became their church home. In her final years, she also attended Church of the Nativity in Dothan, Alabama.

When her youngest child started school in 1988, Sylvia also returned to the classroom as a high school English teacher, and she retired from Houston County High School in 2006. Over the course of her teaching career she led countless groups to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and pushed her students to memorize Shakespearean passages. Her dedication to expand her students' lives, minds, and experiences outside of the classroom was a passionate priority that has left an indelible mark on many lives.

When not at home in Columbia, Sylvia spent much of her time with extended family in Wakulla County. One of her favorite places on earth was the family’s “River House” on the Ochlockonee River. On the screened porch, she loved listening to the birds while gazing through the tupelo trees as the morning sun burned fog off the river. Some of her favorite things to do were catching redfish with the grandkids and “Papa” up Bear Creek and riding her jetski through the cutoff on the Ochlockonee. When the summer heat became too much, she and Glenn loved spending time in the Smoky Mountains, particularly the area around Dillard, Georgia. She relished spending time with her family on the front porch of the Dillard House “Rock House” drinking coffee and taking in the breathtaking fall colors.

She expressed her love by cooking and teaching others, sharing family recipes she learned from the women before her; mailing gifts and cards to her nine grandchildren, and creating special holiday memories, a love she cultivated from her mother’s example. She loved spending time with her extended family in Wakulla County, talking about cherished memories, playing card games late into the night, and laughing with all generations. Sylvia had a great time playing games like Canasta, Dominos, and Parcheesi, to name a few, and she loved to win. Multiple notebooks containing hundreds of score tallies are evidence of this.

She was loved by many people who she met and got to know in her lifetime. She sought out friendships with those who needed her most, and she had an open, listening ear. She was a tenacious champion for those less fortunate, believed in equality, and felt compassion for people who lived in the shadows of society. She wanted to be a presence in the lives of the people she helped.

Family was extremely important to Sylvia. She wished three things for her family: health, joy and service. She gave her emotional energy to things that made her happy and did not dwell on life’s disappointments.

Sylvia was preceded in death by her husband and her parents. She is survived by her brother Morris Brown and his wife Jennifer of Crawfordville, Florida; aunt Betty Sue Bruce and her husband Larry of Crawfordville; children Jared Forrester and wife, Missy, of Dothan, Jonas Forrester and wife, Sharee, of Dothan, Janna Sayer and husband, John, of Clarkston, Georgia, and Jason Forrester and wife, Adrienne Willis, of New York; daughter-in-law Vidya Seejattan of Bowie, Maryland; grandchildren Sanjay Seejattan Forrester, Carl and Claire Forrester, Oliver and Evan Sayer, Jordan, Janie Kay and Birdie Forrester, and Lachlan Willis; and dear friend and neighbor of 48 years, Louise Mills. Sylvia’s final year of life was made better by her caregiver, Anais Nunez, who was devoted to her comfort and tended to every need as her health declined.

A private family service will be held on Friday, December 18 at Church of the Nativity in Dothan. At a later date, her cremains will be interred at Church of the Ascension, Carrabelle, Florida. Anyone wishing to honor her memory can donate to Church of the Ascension (http://www.episcopalcarrabelle.org), House of Ruth (https://www.houseofruthdothan.org), or Wiregrass Children’s Home (https://wiregrasschildrenshome.org).

Robert and Toni Byrd · Sunset Memorial Park

1700 Barrington Rd, Midland City AL · (334) 983-6604