Gary Dale Fortney

Gary Dale Fortney, 83, of Vincent, Ohio passed away Tuesday morning January 13th at Marietta Memorial Hospital following a battle with pneumonia.

Although the condition weakened his heart, his will remained strong and he fought the good fight.

Born in Massillon, Ohio on September 21,1942, Gary was the youngest of five children raised by his late parents, Charles Lawton Fortney and Myrtle Olive McCray.

The family moved from Massillon to Vincent, where Gary excelled in sports at Vincent High School, and graduated in 1960.

He married his late wife, Janet Kay Graham, in May of 1969 and they lived a 51 year adventure together, traveling and teaching.

Gary's travels however began shortly after high school with the United States Air Force. Originally stationed in Indiana, he served in Florida and also Edinburgh, Scotland where he held a security clearance working in encryption. He received an honorable discharge in 1966.

Gary earned his Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona State University in Flagstaff and was just a few credit hours short of earning a Master Degree. Janet received both her Bachelor and Master Degrees from Northern Arizona State University. They embraced the people on the Hopi Indian Reservation and began working at the school there, with Gary working as a teacher at Second Mesa, while Janet served as an aide in the early 1970's.

After they returned to Washington County, Gary worked for Chevron Chemicals on Route 7 while Janet worked as a teacher at Fort Frye. She retired after 22 years, and he retired from Chevron after more than 20 years.

Gary and Janet built a beautiful log home in Bartlett and lived there for many years, with Gary enjoying the country, his log splitter, tractor, and chainsaw.

Affectionately known as the "fun uncle" and the "cool uncle" he entertained his nephews and nieces with one-arm pushups that helped test him out of the Air Force's physical fitness requirements in boot camp. Gary always had a smile that went well with those pointed-toed cowboy boots and silver belt buckles. That western motif he picked-up in Flagstaff he wore well in Washington County. After retiring, he and Janet moved to Sun City, Arizona and enjoyed their house on the golf course and plenty of sunshine, before deciding to move home to Vincent in 2017.

After Janet's death from Covid-19 in 2020, the neighbors on Timberline Drive made sure to keep him engaged with life in the neighborhood. He enjoyed loaning out his new Cub Cadet Zero Turn mower to his honorary motivational speaker and neighbor, Lori, who kept him on his toes with some good-natured, constructive criticism.

Gary is survived by daughters Marsha Cioppa (Tony, deceased) and Melinda Robertson (Dennis) and granddaughters, Alexandra, Lyndsay, and Quinn as well as several great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Special thank you to nieces, Jill Frame (Keith), Kathy Barnhart, and nephews, Philip Proctor (Amy) and John Fortney for visiting often, if not daily during his recent month-long hospital stay.

Gary was a Christian and the family takes great comfort knowing he is back in heaven with his late siblings, Charles, Kenneth, Vivian, and Nelma.

In the words of Matthew 25, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

The family will receive friends Friday January 23, from 12pm to 2pm at the BARLOW CHAPEL OF CAWLEY & PEOPLES FUNERAL HOME, 11 White Oak Woods Drive, Vincent, OH 45784 with a short Celebration of Life at 2pm followed by a graveside service at Bartlett Cemetery with Full Military Rites.

CAWLEY & PEOPLES FUNERAL HOME OF BARLOW is honored to serve the Fortney family and offers online condolences as well as many other resources by visiting www.CawleyandPeoples.com or by following their Facebook page.