ANOTHER FORTUNE LOST!
George Fred Fortune, husband and father of seven, passed
away quietly and peacefully at his home at 11:40pm, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 surrounded by
his entire family.
Dad was 94 years old, born October 25, 1920 of Lillian Annette
Petty and Fred Archibald Fortune, Menlo Park, California. He was an only child and
was the apple of his mother’s eye.
Married for 65 years, the love of his life
and wife Idell Jane Allen passed May 29, 2014 – together now they are in the
eternal dance of life. Dad also leaves behind seven children: Frederick (wife
Cathleen), Daniel, Robert, Annette, John (wife Sue), Mary and Elizabeth
(husband Robert) and 12 smart, creative and delightful grandchildren (Victoria Fortune, Robbie Cheim, Christina Fortune, Michael Cheim, Michelle Fortune, Greg Fortune, Marie Cheim, Martin Cheim, and Daniel and Matthew Fortune).
One of the big reasons Mom and Dad were attracted to each
other was their love of dancing. They fell in love on their fist date and were
married 5 months later. After marriage they lived in Menlo Park, then Los Altos
Hills - having sold an apartment complex they built with their own hands
afterhours and weekends. In 1963 the Fortune family moved to the Willow Glen
area of San Jose.
(Military blog
- http://georgenavylsmr408.blogspot.com/?m=1)
George F. Fortune
volunteered for service in the United States Navy, signing up in February 1942,
on leaving college at the age of twenty 22. He attended Midshipman School at
Furnald Hall, Columbia University, New York City, for 3 months and 2 weeks
trial and training. He eventually became Captain of LSMR 408 rocket ship
USNR and had 133 men in his crew and 7 officers.
June 6, 1944 D
Day as written to his family..."On D-Day,
I watched planes fall from the sky like exploding fireworks, ships around me
turned turtle, blown up by torpedoes, and wave after wave of Allied planes
flying over and bombing at the Utah beach landing."
Prior to his Senior Executive position as Captain, Dad pulled the firing levers on
the 439s first salvo of 1448 rockets, which took about 3 minutes. They roared
over the heads of the troops in the small landing craft en route to the
beaches. The rockets landed on the beaches to ensure the German troops were
eliminated when the Allied troops arrived shortly afterwards, on time and on
target. The crew wore their anti-gas outfits and life jackets for a week
without taking them off! They found out later that they hit their target and on
time!!
Services and celebrations:
*Wednesday, February 25, Oak
Hill Cemetery, San Jose. Times are 11am-5pm Visitation Room, 5pm-9pm Chapel of
Roses (7pm Rosary).
*Thursday, February 26 at 11:00am Mass at St. Thomas More
Chapel, 1565 South White Road 95127, 1:00pm Burial at Oak Hill Memorial Park
followed at 2:30pm with a celebration of her life at the Fortune Home, Willow
Glen (for more information contact mffortune01@gmail.com).
In lieu of Memorial contributions, the Family has
requested donations be made to the Carmelites of Santa Clara, and the Poor
Clare Nuns Los Altos Hills.
THE NAME OF FORTUNE: "The
origin of the Irish surname Fortune and it's variants O'Fortune, Fortin and
Forty are of English origin, having been brought to Ireland by English
settlers. Here the name is of nickname origin; derived from the Latin
"fortuna", meaning "chance, fate, fortune" and indicating
"a fortunate or lucky person".
