Lena Gail Forbis

Lena Gail Qualls Forbis, 77, beloved mother to three children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, of New Bern, North Carolina, passed away at home on August 24, 2024, leaving a void her family cannot fill.

Lena was born in Harlan, Kentucky in 1946 to Carl and Della Qualls, and was the oldest of five children. She graduated from Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville, Kentucky in 1965, after which she began working at Southern Bell as a telephone operator. She worked her entire career in different positions for the phone company, finally retiring in 1997.

Lena was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served her church community faithfully by holding various leadership roles, including president of the Relief Society, Young Women’s, and Primary programs.

Lena was very talented at cooking, quilting, sewing, and crafting. She took great pride in winning sweepstakes ribbons at the Kentucky State Fair in pickling, canning, jellies & preserves, along with hundreds of ribbons in additional categories, such as cakes, cookies, and breads.

Lena was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, sister Sharon, and brother Joseph. She is survived by her husband John Forbis, to whom she was married almost 54 years; daughters Shelly (Doug) Lam, Wendy (Paul) Buono, and Kelly Forbis; grandchildren Emily (Gary) Swider, Josh (Cassidy) Forbis, Josh Buono, Alex Lam, Anthony Andriole, and Ben Lam; great-grandchildren Lucas, James, and Liam; sister Kathy Montgomery; brother Scott (Becky) Qualls; aunt Bobbie Coldiron; cousin Ginger Hensley; and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held 11:00 am Saturday August 31, 2024 at The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints at 1207 Forest Drive, New Bern, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, 111 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001.

Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Forbis family.