It is with an immensely heavy, deeply broken and terribly saddened heart that on September 15th, 2021 at 1:34pm, the heavens gained yet another angel. DAVID BRUCE FORTNER at the age of 71 years young, has officially gained his wings, spread them wide, and flew to his now eternal forever home. David Bruce Fortner was born on November 20th, 1949 to his mother Dorothy Bell Luce/Fortner and his Father John Robert Fortner. He was a veteran who had such an amazingly big heart. He truly would give the shirt off his back and go above and beyond to help others. He was cantankerous and very contrary at times, yet he was truly and purely one of much wisdom, knowledge and one who would always try to help ANYONE AS LONG AS THEY WERE TRYING TO DO RIGHT in their lives. He was one of the most caring, compassionate, and most loving men that anyone could have met or known. He was a man of many traits and talents. He loved to hunt, fish, work on vehicles, work on as well as make and build his own computers. He enjoyed watching shows like America’s Got Talent, Mork and Mindy and watching videos on YouTube. He enjoyed playing his game Fishdom, with his many fish tanks, and loved to cook and bake. His famous Chicken Marsala, No-Bake cookies, buckeyes, and his peanut brittle were often a favorite he made. He was truly about his family as he loved his family and truly was not only his son’s, David Robert Fortner’s dad, but his best friend. He loved his family and friends with his whole being. Which I was able to see personally myself over the years. Over the 6 years in which I had the TRUE HONOR TO GET TO KNOW HIM, I’ve learned so much from him and I grew to love him as my own father/dad. From that very 1st day back on Sept 2nd, 2015 when I met him he took my boys as well as myself under his wing and treated us as his own without a question or thought in it. He loved us all deeply which will forever be held deep in my heart. I have so many wonderful and amazing memories in which I will forever cherish and hold dear to my heart. He gained the nickname “Happy Feet ” due to the fact that when he would sit with us in the front room watching tv and movies with us he would tap his feet like he was dancing. We know the pain of his loss and absence in time will become easier to tolerate or manage or handle, yet the absence of him being gone will forever now leave a massive void deeply within our hearts. We will however say, we are grateful he is now an angel watching over us all because we know he is no longer suffering in agony and physical or even emotional pain anymore, and for that part yes we are grateful. However, we hate the fact that he’s gone and no longer with us on earth. That being said we know he’s in heaven and he now has his eyesight back, his lungs are no longer gone from where he was shot during a robbery so many years ago, and he no longer suffers in severe pain. He now can not only see, but he now can hear fully again, and he can walk without running out of oxygen or being in such pain and agony. He is now complete and whole again. We will always forever be grateful for the man who gave his time and served in the Army and for serving our country as he did. We will forever be grateful for every memory in which we have shared and experienced with one of the truly most amazing men we could’ve ever been blessed with and are truly honored to have known. There is no greater loss of losing such an amazing spirit, man and a man I grew to love and know as a dad or for his son to have truly lost his best friend and father and his family to have lost such an amazing family member. He would rarely be one to express his love to many of us or say he loved us, but towards the end I will forever be blessed and hold on to the moments when I would tell him I love you dad and would hear him tell me he loves me too back, all as I am tucking him in as he’d lay down to rest. He will deeply and truly be missed more than any amount of words will ever be able to fully say, and the reality of knowing we can no longer call him, or go to the other room and just spend time with him or hug him, or ever again share the memories we have again with him is now the hardest part to grasp. However, most definitely and absolutely we can say that he will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!!! WE ALL SHALL NEVER FORGET YOU DAD, and we will always love you more then we’ll ever be able to share or express or you will ever know. We shall always keep you close to our hearts dad and know you’re now in a much better place than we are. Till the day we are able to meet again you shall forever live in our hearts and memories dad, aka Happy Feet, aka Santa Claus, but most of all, our true BEST FRIEND!!! .

Rest in peace now dad, our true best friend, as you spread your wings high and wide, while you soar above us all, watching over us, guiding us, and protecting us all. WE TRULY, DEEPLY AND IMMENSELY MISS YOU SO MUCH AND DEEPLY LOVE YOU SO MUCH DAD, REST IN PEACE NOW OUR GRANDPA, DAD, BROTHER, BEST FRIEND AND HERO!!!

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