Mary Margaret Bull Fore

Mary “Margaret” Bull Fore completed her earthly journey and peacefully entered eternity with her Lord and Savior on July 17, 2025; two months shy of her centennial birthday.

She is survived by two of her children and their spouses, Paul & Pat Fore (Biloxi) and Tammy & Ron Turney (Ocean Springs); three grandsons, Barry (Mary) Warriner (Pflugerville, TX), Brad Fore (Columbus), and Charles “Andy” Fore (Ethelsville, AL); three great-grandchildren, Justin, Katelynn, and Anthony; and two great-great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind twin brother and sister Julian Bull (San Antonio, TX) and Julia Schomaker (Rayne, LA). She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert H. Sr. & Jeanne Besse Bull; her husband, Edwin “Ed” B. Fore, Jr.; and her eldest son, Charles Fore.

Margaret greeted the world on September 17, 1925, the fifth child of what would eventually become a family of eight children, in Rayne, LA. In a time when she would normally be relegated to twice-used, hand-me-down clothes, Margaret discovered early on that her talents for dance and recitation in local performances meant getting a new dress or two. She excelled in high school--serving as band drum major, graduating as class valedictorian, medaling at state scholastic rallies, and attending Louisiana Girls State.

Margaret was devoted to her family whether it be as daughter, sister, wife, mother, or grandmother. She was staunchly Christian by faith through grace, reformed in worship, and Conservative to the core. She was a wonderful Southern cook, a mean Scrabble player, and an avid reader. But her favorite pastime was probably that of “storyteller”, vividly reminiscing a bygone America. She could tell stories of warm family bonds strengthened by hard-scrabble life in small-town Louisiana during the Great Depression and of fond childhood memories of her French immigrant grandmother. And then there was the story of a young redhead who loved to dance coming of age during WWII. A USO dance floor brought her and a cocky young Army Air Corps Sergeant from Corpus Christi, TX together. They fell in love and married within months in 1945.

The new Mrs. Fore accumulated more adventures and story fodder accompanying her “doodlebugger” husband during the post-war boom years of the oil exploration industry. Sometimes moving two or more times in the span of a year, she with two young sons now in tow followed their husband/father throughout the Great Plains States from the Canadian to Mexican borders. It was a difficult life, but Margaret persevered to keep her young family intact while forming lifelong friendships with other Gulf Oil Company crew families.

By the 1960s Margaret and family had given up their semi-nomadic life for a more “settled” one in Mississippi. Earlier, the family had never lived long enough in one place to establish a church home. Now, firmly planted (at least in one state), she focused on becoming an active church member often teaching Sunday School and serving in women’s ministries at the local Presbyterian churches in various towns she resided: First PC (now Faith PC) of Brookhaven, First PC of Port Gibson, Main Street PC in Columbus for 25 years, and First PC of Biloxi for the last 20 years.

After her husband’s passing in 1984, she transitioned from helpmate to her own person joining the Lowndes County Republican Women, auditing college courses at MUW, and traveling overseas to Europe and the Middle East. Travel, from now on, would be on her terms and her home would always be Mississippi.

A kind person once described Margaret as “sweet, but strong”. Like so many of the "Greatest Generation" she grew up with and of whom so few still bless this earth, she developed remarkable character--equal parts grit, spirit, wisdom, and compassion. Simply put, she loved and defended her country, her state, her church, her family, and her God.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 9:00 am at the Biloxi National Cemetery under the pavilion. Please follow cemetery signage to begin queueing at 8:45 am. A visitation/reception will immediately follow the service in the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church, Biloxi.

The Reverend Tim Horn, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, will officiate. Donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 1340 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, MS 39530 or to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (T2T.org).

The family extends their appreciation to the Biloxi Police Department’s R-U-OK program staff for their daily check-in calls when Mom lived independently at Seashore Oaks. (She especially delighted in hearing William sing oldies tunes whenever he called.) We are deeply grateful for the personal attention and gentle care that Dr. Ben Cheney and Nurse Becky afforded Mom over the years. And, finally, to Gloria and the other earthly angels from SAAD Hospice, we can’t thank you enough for the sweet care and comfort you gave Mom over the course of her last years and days—a true blessing to her and to us.

The Riemann Family Funeral Home, 13872 Lemoyne Blvd., in West Jackson County is serving the family. Share memories, condolences, and photos with Mary’s family at www.riemannfamily.com