Ellen (Tina) Forestine Brost

Published 12:08 pm Friday, June 13, 2025

Ellen (Tina) Forestine James Brost went home to the Lord peacefully at Hospice of Southern Kentucky in Bowling Green on June 5, 2025. Tina was 91 years old.

Tina was born on June 17, 1933 in Statesville, Tennessee, to Byrd and Mamie Young James, and was the youngest of five children. A small town girl, she was a cheerleader at Watertown High School and was an avid lover of gospel music and the piano.

Tina met her doting midwestern husband, Dolph Lee Brost, on a blind date at the age of 18 and they quickly began their lives together. Over the next several years they welcomed two beautiful daughters, Beth and Cindy.

Lee’s position with the U.S. Navy also allowed their family to travel the world, living in both Cuba and the Philippines, before returning to Pensacola, Florida, to watch their daughters grow up.

In 1979, the couple settled in Bowling Green, Kentucky to be closer to Tina’s mother. Bowling Green became Tina’s home for 46 years. She loved her church, Eastwood Baptist, and her Sunday school sisters. She sang in the choir here, and every church of which she and her husband were members.

She enjoyed feeding her family and friends good southern food and desserts (her teacakes are a family favorite). She loved to read, and snack on roasted peanuts and Sunkist. She adored time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, whether it was playing cards, the “shell game”, or simply watching TV together in recliners. Tina was deeply loved and will be missed by all who knew her.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Lee; her parents, Byrd and Mamie; her older siblings, Guy James, Annie Ruth Ricketts, Frances Moorehead, and Jenelle Sims.

Tina is survived by her daughters Beth Hoffman (Robert) of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Cindy Maxwell (David), of Leesville, South Carolina; grandchildren, Lauren Drake (Stacy), Matthew Maxwell (Sharon), Stephen Hoffman (Meagan), and Bradley Maxwell; great-grandchildren, Owen and Ella Maxwell; and numerous loving nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Eastwood Baptist Church in Bowling Green and/or Hospice of Southern Kentucky.

Funeral services will be 11:00 am Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at J.C. Kirby & Son Lovers Lane Chapel with burial to follow in Bowling Green Gardens. Visitation at the funeral home will be from 9:00 until 11:00 am Tuesday June 17th.