Obituary: Flora Opal Fortney

Flora Opal Fortney, 98, passed away, peacefully, on Nov. 19, 2024. Flora was born in Red Jacket, West Virginia to William and Susan Opal Enevoldsen Feb. 5, 1926. At age 16, she left home to attend Berea College moving on, once eligible, at age 18 to Nursing School in Detroit, Michigan where she earned her RN before training to become a certified nurse anesthetist.

While in Detroit, Flora met her soon-to-be husband, Howard. They were married on Jan. 28, 1956. After marriage they moved to Athens, Ohio, where Howard was a Navy Recruiter and Flora continued her nursing career. Together they raised their three children. Flo’s career led her to work in a variety of hospital settings in the Athens area. The last decade her career took her to the Athens County Health department where she directed a cervical cancer screening clinic and a prenatal clinic, both of which she had a tremendous passion for. Shortly after retirement, she and Howard moved to Oxford, Ohio.

Howard and Flo enjoyed travelling in the United States and abroad. Many of their trips took them to national parks, reunions with the men Howard had served with or to countries he had been in during his Navy career. In retirement Flo found community at the Oxford United Methodist church. In 2013 she was honoured for volunteering 3500 hours at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital.

Flora is survived by her children, Rebecca (Matthew) Jonas of Farmersville, Texas; Susan Fortney-Harlan (John) of Oxford; and David (Cheryl) Fortney of Sidney, Ohio; her 11 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren; her brother George (Laura) Enevoldsen of Athens, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the Oxford United Methodist Church or McCullough-Hyde Foundation.

This obituary was originally published on the website of Paul R. Young Funeral Home.