Marilyn J. Fortune, 87, passed away surrounded by her family on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Marilyn was born on February 21, 1935 in Middletown, Ohio. Marilyn moved to Miami with her parents in the early 1950’s where she met her beloved husband Thomas Rod Fortune (Rod). They moved to Georgia in 1972, moving back to their home state of Florida, settling in Leesburg in1978.
After Marilyn retired, it gave her more time to spend with her family, but also allowed her to spread out her wings to take on projects and do other things that added fun and activity to her life. She headed up the Bereavement Committee at Pembroke Fairways to comfort the families that lost a loved one and assist them with Celebration of Life plans. She joined the Red Hat Society, which gave her the opportunity to meet others and gave her a lot of joy. Another thing she enjoyed was learning to line dance. Line dancing became her favorite activity and subsequently provided a lot of fun exercise, which would make any doctor happy. She became known as the “Line Dance Queen.” She looked forward to Thursday’s when she could go “exercise,” and did so until she suffered a stroke.
Marilyn was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. It will take a long time before our hearts start to heal. Marilyn is survived by her four children, Paul, Cindy, Mike and Tommy; nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Rod.
Marilyn’s Celebration of Life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 24, 2022, at Beyers Funeral Home in Leesburg, 11233 W. Main St., Leesburg, FL 34748. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Tunnel 2 Towers (T2T.org) or at Cornerstone Hospice (CornerstoneHospice.org) where she had excellent care.
