Jean S. Fort

Born in Elberton, Georgia on December 5, 1926, Jean was the fourth daughter born to Sarah Tatum of Greenville, Alabama and Walter Prentice Smith of Gaffney, South Carolina.

Jean spent her childhood in Gaffney where she met her childhood sweetheart and future husband, James Coker Fort, in the first grade at Central School. Though in love from that first meeting, Jean left Gaffney to continue her education at St. Mary’s School in Raleigh before working in New York, and then in West Berlin for U.S. Army Intelligence just after WWII. While in Berlin, she received a telephone proposal from Jim. The couple met in Bermuda on August 18, 1951, and married in the Anglican Church in Hamilton. Afterwards, they moved to Hartsville, South Carolina, where Jim worked for Sonoco Products Company and where they raised their family.

She was a devoted wife, who, together with Jim, built a home on Prestwood Lake, a home they loved and shared with family, friends and the greater Hartsville community. Tragic was the loss of their young son, James Coker Fort, II, but Jean relied on her faith and the support of family to heal from this profound loss. She was a longtime member of St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in Hartsville and St. Mary of the Hills in Blowing Rock.

Jean and Jim loved the natural beauty of their home on the lake. Always positive, gentle and welcoming, Jean happily entertained her husband’s business colleagues and friends. She and Jim regularly opened their Hartsville home for concerts, fundraisers and parties. In 1995, she received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award for her devoted service to Coker College. Additionally, Jean supported the York Place Episcopal Home for Children, St. Christopher Camp in Seabrook, South Carolina, and the Black Creek Arts Council.

In addition to her husband of 64 years, Jean is survived by daughters, Gay Boswell of Charlotte, Melanie Christian and husband Lynch of Lynchburg, Virginia, Claudia Heath and husband Andy of Charlotte; sons, Caleb Fort and wife Delie of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Hamlet Fort and wife Alice of Hartsville, and Edward Fort and wife Lori of Horatio, South Carolina; 18 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by a grandson, Saxon Crenshaw Boswell.

A memorial service will be held at St. Mary’s Church in Blowing Rock, NC at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 22. The family will receive visitors at their Blowing Rock home, Merlin Glen, following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the scholarship fund at Coker College.