Sibyl Ilene Lewis Forrester, 99, of Baxter went home to be with the Lord on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the Tri-Cities Nursing and Rehabilitation Center with her family by her side. She was born May 27, 1925, in Leslie County to the late Willard Lewis and Ethel Lewis. She was a cook for 22 years for the Harlan County Board of Education feeding and loving the children of Harlan County. She was cook at the Highbank Elementary, Loyall Jr. High, James A. Cawood, and retired from Rosspoint Elementary. The school dedicated the yearbook to her and every child made her a card that she has kept to this very day.

After the loss of her husband in 1989, she began attending the Harlan Senior Citizens Center.  She seldom missed a day loving her time with her beautiful friends. Covid stopped her from going but she kept in contact with the staff and looked forward to the day it could reopen. She loved going to the Harlan Senior Citizens Center and she believed in the Church of Christ faith.

She also loved her many fun times with her quilting sisters in the Material Girls Quilting Club. She also enjoyed scrapbooking with her friends in Scrapbooking Club. She loved to have parties and get-togethers, making Grandma Sibyl fried taters for her company.

Sibyl grew up on Coon Creek in Leslie County. If you knew her, you knew how she loved telling stories of growing up. She loved playing music and singing with her brothers. She helped her mom with raising her siblings. She loved going on adventures with her husband to bluegrass festivals and gospel meetings. They loved their camper at Gilmore Dock, where they shared many happy memories with their family.

Her greatest love was for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, she often told the story of her baptism, she had a fear of water and the night she was baptized they took her to a big hole of water and He had taken her fear of the water away. She loved her church family from Dayhoit and Poorfork Churches of Christ, until she became ill and couldn't attend, but she told the people at the nursing home about the Lord and how to become a Christian.

Beside her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Hubert Lee Forrester; five brothers, Ray Lewis, Cova Lewis, Snoden Lewis, Willie Lewis and John Lewis; four sisters, Sylvania Murphy, Bonnie Helton, Ethel Howard and Lindy Lewis; a step-daughter, Geraldine Cable; one grandson that she loved very much, Tommy Woodard; her step-mother, Ethel Lewis; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Wilma Lewis, Ida Mae Lewis, Frances (Worley) Slemp, Jay (Bea) Forrester, John (Dean) Forrester, Dan Forrester, Denver (Lucy) Forrester, Haywood (Caroline) Forrester; and  Niece  (Cleo) Garland, friend, Hazel Ball, and her precious dog, Molly.

Sibyl is survived by seven children, Jerry Forrester and wife, Elaine, Baxter; James Forrester and wife, Jeanette, London; Kathy Huckleby and husband, James, Loyall; Pat Duncan and husband, Nick, Wallins; Lola McMillian and husband, Greg, Baxter; Denver Forrester and wife, Chris, Butler TN.; and Mike Forrester, Baxter; 14 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews that she loved like her own.

She is survived by some very special caregivers that she truly loved, Deanie Rigney, Melissa Steward, Freda Green, Joanie Lynch, her granddaughter, Sarah Williams, Tisha Ball, special niece she loved like her daughter "My Mary" as she called her, Mary Slemp, special friend, Margaret Moses. Thank you to the Harlan Senior Citizen Center and staff for their love and support over many years, for the meal deliveries and the home care. A thank you to her doctors, Stanley Marlowe and James Bazi, their staff for the love and care they always showed her an  extra special thank you to the staff of the Tri-Cities Nursing Home. There are no words to describe how much she loved the workers and how much they loved and cared for her, to the office staff, physical therapy staff, laundry and custodial staff and especially the CNA's and Nurses. She loved them all and would always tell them when leaving her room, "I love you and be careful going home". A special thank you to the staff of Harlan Funeral Home for their love and care in taking care of our mother on her final journey to heaven.

Her visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in the chapel of the Harlan Funeral Home with the funeral starting at 7 p.m. Pastor James Forrester, Pastor Danny Yonker, and Elder Glen Cornett will be officiating. Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Resthaven Cemetery with Sibyl's sons-in-law and grandsons will serve as pallbearers. To follow in procession, please meet at the funeral home at 10:30 a.m.

Harlan Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Sibyl Forrester.