Marlyn Spires Forbes

Marlyn Spires Forbes left us on June 25th, 2020 at Hospice Savannah at the age of 74. She received attentive care at St. Joseph’s Hospital by some truly caring and talented Registered Nurses, Patient care technicians and doctors.
She is survived by her children, Jake Forbes and Joy Tabatabai.
Marlyn was born in Jacksonville, Florida but was a proud, life-long Savannahian. She was the daughter of Blondell Rast Warren and John Kirk Spires.
A graduate of Brookland Cayce High School in Columbia, South Carolina, Marlyn went onto work as a telephone operator for 27 years, ultimately retiring from AT&T. She was a proud union member of CWA-Communication Workers of America. After retirement, her strong work ethic compelled her to work another decade at Sam’s Club as a demo lady, making many people happy with her smile and friendly manner, much more than the little cup of food.
Marlyn was loved by all who knew her, she is described as the sweetest, kindest person. She loved animals, especially her chickens and cats. She loved her Grand-dogs like any Grandma would.
Marlyn never met a stranger. She was talkative in public, loved events and enjoyed conversations with anyone.
Marlyn saw the wonder and power in nature. She really cared about the environment and humanity’s impact on our planet. Her children can’t ignore a beautiful bird, a colorful sunset or a display of nature that others may not even take notice of. This is one of the many gifts she gave us.
Quoting Marlyn: “ WE don’t do that.” My best friend, Melissa told me once: “I can’t wait to tell my children that!” Marlyn beamed with pride, when I told her of this admiration of her parenting technique.
Marlyn loved to read and plant and dig and place things in her garden. She was absolutely occupied with her back yard birds…
In March of this year, Marlyn was asked some questions:
When asked, “If you needed not sleep again, what would you spend the extra time doing?” Her answer was simply, “Read.”
What question would you most like to know the answer to? Her answer was: “ What is beyond the universe. For there to be an end to something, there has to be something on the other side.” To clarify, Marlyn was referring to Space. She loved astronomy and space travel. She was an avid fan of Science fiction.
Another question asked was: “What was the most bizarre experience you’ve had in your life?” She answered: “I was in the back yard, a storm was coming up. I was going to get a chicken back in the coop. A whirlwind came up around me and it was surreal, outside of reality, I was elated, I laughed out loud. I think there is a power, an energy, a spirit of everything.”
To say Marlyn will be missed, is a gross understatement. The wisdom, the answers, the love, the peace that is missing from my life now, makes me want to weep. I have wept, and I will now and then, but I will go on in my life trying to make my Mom proud, as I always have, for I know she was and I want to maintain that record.
A funeral service will be held at 5:00 p.m., Saturday, June 27, 2020 at Baker McCullough Funeral Home, Hodgson Memorial Chapel. The family will be receiving friends one hour prior to the service at 4:00 p.m.