Uva Nell “Ms. Nell” Fortney, 88 of Bowling Green, KY, passed away peacefully on April 15, 2024.
Born in Golden Pond, KY on July 9, 1935 to Toy and Edna (Futrell) Lassiter, Nell was raised by loving grandparents and friends of her family after the death of her mother when Nell was only 11 years old.
Nell met her husband, Robert Fortney (Bob), as he was on a gas pipeline survey crew working through western Kentucky. They were married ten days later in Hernando, MS on August 4, 1956 and they celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2016.
Nell and Robert were the proud parents of four children, Dianne Vera of San Antonio, TX, Charles Fortney (Connie) of Bowling Green, Bruce Fortney late of Racine, WI and Terri Jones (Tim) of Temecula, CA. She had four grandchildren, Stephen and Casey Fortney of Bowling Green and Holly and April Jones of Temecula.
Nell and her family moved from Kentucky to Wisconsin, where she managed the family and kept books for Bob as he operated a dry cleaning store, garbage removal business and also worked as a truck driver. Nell most recently worked as a personal housekeeper for Craig and Helen Johnson-Leipold in Racine, WI before retiring.
Nell loved the Lord and was a faithful member of several Baptist churches in Wisconsin and Kentucky as she served in her beloved children’s ministries. She also enjoyed recreational activities, such as snowmobiling and bowling in a women’s league for many years.
In addition to her parents, Nell was preceded in death by her husband Bob, son Bruce, her brother Rondal Lassiter and many beloved uncles, aunts and cousins.
A brief celebration of life service will be held at J.C. Kirby Funeral Home, Lovers Lane Chapel, on Saturday, April 20 at 11:00am with visitation from 9:00am until 11:00am at the funeral home. A graveside service will be held at 2:30pm at Elm Grove Cemetery in Murray, KY with burial to follow. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.act.alz.org .