Marjorie A Fortney

Marjorie Arlene Fortney, 72, died peacefully on January 9, 2019, while in Hospice Care in Grand Junction, Colorado, after having complications from a stroke. She was born May 16, 1946, in Goodland, Kansas, the daughter of Ethel Kibel. She lived in Goodland, Kansas, and Erie, Colorado, but spent her adult life in Grand Junction, Colorado. She would know Grand Junction as her “home”.

Marjorie married Lyle (Ewing) Fortney and had two children with him, Tammy, and Timothy. Lyle and Marjorie would later divorce.

She was a Christian woman and loved to watch Hal Lindsey on TV, as well as several other shows. Once she got her laptop, she enjoyed keeping up with her family and friends on Facebook. She also took pleasure in crocheting and made several afghans, hats, and scarves for people she loved.

Marjorie graduated high school and attended Mesa College. She had an extensive career as a CNA.

She is preceded in death by her beloved daughter (Tammy), and her beloved Mom (Ethel).

Marjorie is survived by her brothers Keith and Tom (Adelia) Kibel and her sister Judy Rosado as well as many nieces and nephews, and extended family that she loved dearly.

We will all miss her spunk and feisty personality. She was very devoted to her family and took care of her mom for an extended period of time before she passed away.

There will be a Memorial Service for Marjorie on January 27 at Martin Mortuary.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sandi Nimon and I have been Marj’s friend for 50 years. We met at Dixson’s, where we both worked at the time. I liked her spunkiness right away. She was a loner and did not let outsiders in easily, but she finally let me in and trusted me as her valued friend. Her son and my daughter are the same age, 49.

I knew her health was failing, but nonetheless, it is still devastating that she has passed away. She was only 72, but her health had been declining and she was giving signs that she really wanted to join her daughter and Mom in heaven. She was a Christian, so I know she is in a place where there is no longer pain and suffering and she is happy.

I hope everyone can hold his or her heads high that Marj would have wanted us to celebrate her life, and speak about our fond memories with a smile on our faces. Let’s not dwell on our significant loss, but instead focus on paying tribute to her life.

Marj was more than a friend to me, she was family. After my divorce and the loss of my brother, I moved back to Grand Junction. I am so blessed to have lifelong friendships. At that time her son, Tim needed extensive surgeries on his eyes. I would take them to Denver for those surgeries. Marj thought I was helping her out, but I needed the focus away from my divorce and the death of my brother, and taking them to Denver helped me out a great deal. We would go out together on weekends and would sometimes get into predicaments, because we were naive. Once, we unknowingly went into a Biker Bar, and a very nice man escorted us out. “He said…”Ladies, this is a Biker Bar. I don’t think you want to be in here.”. We laughed and laughed about how, well dumb we could be. In hindsight, that nice man was a probably a bouncer. So you could say we got bounced out of a bar. We saw each other through relationships and hardships throughout the years and had many wonderful conversations throughout the years.

When her Mom needed help Marj was steadfast when it came to taking care of her. She was there every single day, even when she didn’t feel well. She took her mom shopping, to doctor’s visits, and she cooked for her daily. Marj was in her 60’s when she did all of this and I know it wasn’t easy for her, but she was there all day long every day. And by the way, Marj was a very good cook. Her mom was a picky eater, so if Ethel would eat it, it was good!

Marj was smart, but never really thought of herself as that. She worked hard for a long time as a CNA, working at various nursing home facilities and in home care. She didn’t make a lot of money and NEVER asked for any help from anyone. I used to go to her Christmas parties at the various nursing homes she worked at.

Marj had hardships and she went through the loss of a child who was only two years old when she died, a divorce, and the loss of her mom. She accepted life as it was brought to her and was grateful that Christ was in her life.

She started college to become a nurse, but circumstances prevented her from finishing. However, because she worked hard, she was able to purchase and pay off her own home. She used the equity in that home as a means of income throughout her retirement, by obtaining a reverse mortgage. She also made sure that all of her funeral arrangements were bought and paid for, so her family would have less of a burden when she passed away. She truly wanted to do the right thing by her family. She wanted to see them more, but she knew they loved her.

She loved her family and after her mom died, she was the matriarch, the one they would come to if they needed a helping hand. She was there to give advice and to help them out whenever she could. When her brother Keith moved in with her, they both helped each other out. He was good for her, and I could see more of a twinkle in her eye when he moved in. I called her every day, but I didn’t worry as much about her when Keith moved in. She was very grateful to him and often referred to him as her “baby” brother.

Marj, our memories together will live in all of our hearts forever.

To all of Marj’s family. She spoke of all of you to me. She loved each and every one of you tremendously. While she didn’t always have a way with words, anything she ever said to any of you was out of her love and concern for you. She told me many times, how she wanted her family to be closer and to have healthy happy lives.

When I think of my dear friend and what she would want for her family, I’m reminded of a quote I saw the other day…

Kindness is like the snow, it beutifies everything it covers.

So, be kind to each other. That is what she would want for all of you.