Marysue Forrest was a beloved mother, grandmother, cousin, friend and bookstore owner. Marysue, “one word,” she would often say, was born Aug. 26, 1947, in Washington, D.C., and lived for three years in an orphanage run by nuns. In 1950 when she was 3 years old, Ruth and Richard “Cotton” Mutispaugh adopted Marysue.

She is survived by her daughter, Leigh Forrest (Kevin Comstock) and her son Keith Forrest. Marysue was known as Grandmere by her two granddaughters, Zoe Comstock and Kacie Comstock, whom she cherished deeply.

Marysue grew up in Lexington and attended Lexington High School. She graduated from Madison College (JMU) with a major in English. She taught high school English and French for a couple of years in Rockbridge County. She was married to a Virginia Military Institute cadet, R.C. Forrest III, for 16 years and had two children, a daughter, Leigh Forrest, and son, Keith Forrest. After moving around the U.S. 26 times together, the marriage dissolved and Marysue and the children lived in Richardson, Texas, for six years. In 1992 after her daughter moved to California to attend college, Marysue moved back to her hometown, Lexington, to help her father.

Marysue started working at The Bookery in 1992, when Jeanette and Gary Baggs were the owners. With her strong literary background, Marysue loved working around all the beloved books. She put all her energy and ideas into the store.

In 1996, the Baggs decided that they no longer wanted to run the store and Marysue offered to buy the store. Marysue along with family friend, James Bakner, bought the store from Gary and Jeanette. Marysue was a savvy, shrewd businesswoman. The Bookery became a touchpoint for the community. The Bookery was the place to get all the major papers, which sometimes created “chaos” as locals clamored to get the latest news.

The Bookery was Marysue’s “baby,” and she was always striving to make it better and with the books up to the ceiling, she was the only person who knew where random specific books were. She could find a copy of any book in two seconds.

Her favorite part of running The Bookery was having book signings, and getting to know all of the customers from the Rockbridge area and from all over the world. Marysue was at the store almost every day for 35 years until October 2024 when bad health prevented her from continuing to work.

Please join us for the service to honor the life of Marysue Forrest at 2 p.m. Friday, May 2, at Oak Grove Cemetery. The Rev. Benjamin M. Dowling III will conduct the graveside service. A reception will follow at Southern Inn, 37 S. Main St.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly request donations to the Rockbridge Historical Society (www.rockbridge.org), Rockbridge Conservation (www. rockbridgeconservation.org) or the Rockbridge Regional Library (www.rrlib.net). NG