Martha Sasser Fortune

Martha Sasser Fortune died at The Mansions at Alpharetta In Alpharetta, GA on April 26, 2020. She was the youngest child of W.B. and Mary Sasser, born at home in Middleton, TN on January 20, 1926. Martha met her husband, William Albert Fortune, when they were 13. Bill told his father that he had met the girl he was going to marry that day. The young couple shared a desk in high school, and Martha was the valedictorian of their high school class; her future husband was the salutatorian. They married at age 19 while Bill was home on leave from his service in the Navy during WWII. After the war ended, they came to Knoxville, TN so that Bill could attend the University of Tennessee on the GI Bill. The young couple fell in love with East Tennessee, which Bill called “God’s country” for the rest of his life. Martha was a devoted wife and homemaker who kept a spotless house, worked in the yard, and paid attention to every detail of providing a happy home life for her beloved husband and their only child. She taught Sunday school and training union at First Baptist Church, and she provided the encouragement that fueled her husband’s successful career. She was always his most staunch supporter. She was an introvert who loved being at home but was willing to accompany her husband to countless meetings and dinners and as she said decades later, “sit in a chair while he talked with everyone.” Her dry wit was the delight of many people who had the pleasure of knowing her. She was keenly perceptive, and her comments often shone a light into the character and motivation of others. Her devotion to the Lord was unceasing as were her generosity and desire to give to those she loved. She was a faithful and devoted friend, independent and sassy and determined and strong-willed. In her eighties she was still climbing on the roof of their home to clean the skylights. These strong qualities enabled her to go on after her beloved husband of 63 years went to be with the Lord in August 2008. Martha was diagnosed with cerebrovascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in late 2017, and in April 2018 she moved to Alpharetta, GA to be near her family. She made many friends in her new home, and her humorous remarks made a lasting impression on many who knew her there. Surviving family include her daughter and son-in-law Deborah and Stephen Musser of Roswell, GA, and granddaughters and grandsons-in-law Amy and Scott Barrett of Peachtree Corners, GA and Sarah and Alan Parker of Murfreesboro, TN, great grandchildren Benjamin, Wesley, Elizabeth, and Matthew Barrett and Will, Kate, and Luke Parker, her sister Gwen Young of Hendersonville, TN, and numerous nieces and nephews. A private family graveside service will be held at Highland Memorial Cemetery in Knoxville on June 13. In lieu of flowers memorials in Martha’s name may be made to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association at https://billygraham.org/give/give-online/ or to the Pat Summitt Foundation for Alzheimer’s research. Arrangements by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel.

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Martha Sasser Fortune

January 20, 1926 - April 26, 2020