- Date Of Birth: January 23, 1926
- Date Of Death: June 7, 2017
- State: West Virginia
Thomas Fortney of the Bethlehem Community, died peacefully in his sleep Wednesday morning, in the room where he was born on the farm that has been in his family since 1790. His parents were Martha Jane Collins and Robert “Emmit” Fortney.
A newspaper journalist and publicist Tom had attended the one-room Bethlehem Elementary School and Masontown High with the exception of his senior year. He graduated from Fairview High School in Dayton, OH where he lived with his sister Arlene (Joseph) Guillozer. Other siblings were: Carl (Lela), Gerald (Louise), Dorothy Brown (Lester) Helen, Maxine Schnell (Ned) and Eleanor Davidson (Bob).
A proud U.S. Marine, Fortney served in both WWII (China) and the Korean Conflict. Additionally he wrote for The Globe the Marine newspaper.
Tom was father to four children (Paula (Jim Almassey), Greg, a twin to Mark (who died in 1981) and Marta) and step-father to another four (Bryan, Page (Holdgate), Blake and Brady Ross) and had five grandchildren (Peyton and Luke Ross and Harry, Gideon and Devon Holdgate) all of whom love and respect him as well as reflect his nature and wonderful sense of humor.
