Montez Shearer Fortinberry

Montez Shearer Fortinberry, 90, of Orlando, Florida, was born in Indianola, Mississippi on July 8, 1935, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on October 14, 2025 after a brief bout with cancer.

Montez was the oldest of three children born to Horace and Thelma Shearer.

She is survived by her three children, Jim (Dana), Dianne, and Eric (Renee); her grandchildren, Dr. Serena Fisher, Miki Fortinberry, Jimi Fortinberry, CMSgt Nick Fortinberry (Kristy), Amy Brunat (David), Justin Roy, Lauren Roy, and several great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, James Fortinberry, her parents, her sister, Peggy Durham, and her brother Bill Shearer.

She and James married in December 1952 and she spent the next 70+ years as a minister's wife, serving with him in churches, association, and convention work until his passing in 2024.

While still in her twenties she discovered that her greatest impact for serving the Lord was in helping develop and maintain stellar church nursery ministries, providing a safe and clean place for small children while their parents were in church and Sunday School. In the 1970s she began a ministry at church for senior adults which she found to be as fulfilling as her work with small children.

She loved her family dearly, from her own parents, to her siblings, to grandchildren, and her many nieces and nephews. She also loved gardening, competing at board games, and music.

From an early age she loved cameras and throughout her whole life she loved taking pictures of her family. As a teenager she got a job at a drugstore to earn the money to purchase her first camera, a Brownie, which she was very proud of. The Brownie was only the first of many she acquired over the years but she used them up, amassing a large collection of family photo albums.

Visitation will be at 11:00 AM on October 21, 2025 at Dover Shores Church and the funeral service will begin at 11:30. The service will also be live-streamed on YouTube. If preferred, in lieu of flowers a donation may be made to Dover Shores Church or Vitas Healthcare. There will be a basket in the foyer for those who would like to leave a note expressing their memories of Montez for the family.