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| Carol (Hills) Fortney Born: June 23, 1929 Died: February 14, 1999 |
Lowell Wray Fortney Born: July 3, 1931 Died: July 17, 2002 |
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| Carol (Hills) Fortney was born June 23, 1929 in the town of Scott, Wisconsin
to Stanton and Marion Hills. She grew up in Spooner, Wisconsin with her three sisters (Elayne,
Ann and Ella) and three brothers (Harold, Arnold and Frederick). After many adventures and completing school, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where she worked for the Honeywell Company. At one point she was signed up for a contest Honeywell ran to select an employee for a trip to the moon. On May 5, 1959, Mom married Lowell Fortney. They settled in Hopkins, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. I was born March 23, 1960 and, my sister, Linda, was born on March 1, 1961. In 1964, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, then later to Hyde Park, Arizona. In 1966, we moved to Hackberry and then, in 1969 to Bullhead City. In 1973, the family moved for the last time to Cornville, Arizona. While Dad worked on powerline construction jobs across the country, Mom worked at Casey's Corner (the community bar, general store, gas station, and everyone's favorite place). During 1974, Mom, Linda and I supervised the construction of our house in Cornville. We actually paid for the nails, paint, insulation, and wiring by recycling aluminum cans. (Just goes to show how many aluminum cans can be gotten from every bar in Cottonwood, Cornville, and Page Springs.) Mom eventually left Casey's to work for Nathan White in his Plumbing and Hardware store. About once a week, he'd fire her (or so he said once) but he always hired her back instantly. He knew he couldn't run the place without her. Nate later sold the store to our friend, Alan Kempner, and Mom stayed with it until she retired. Mom, or Grandma Carol as the kids of Cornville called her, was a natural grandmother. All told she had nine grandkids and two great-grandchildren by the time she passed away. She would spoil these kids rotten if given the chance. It was not wise to give her a grandchild dressed in pastel colors as she had the habit of buying said child a chocolate ice cream cone. Mom loved to write poetry and my daughter, Heather, and I hope to publish them someday in a book about "Grandma Carol". |
Lowell Wray Fortney was born July 3, 1931 in Ottumwa, Iowa to John and Bessie Fortney. Dad was the youngest of their 10 children. He had 6 brothers (Glenn, Shine, Frosty, John, Bob, and Buck) and 3 sisters (Luella, Martha, and Neola [who died shortly after her birth]). (Dad's family was always big on nicknames so that is how I identified them.)
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