Funeral services for Julia “Judy” Malone Ross Fortenberry, 84, of Lone Oak, will be held on Friday, September 12, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., at Lone Oak Baptist Church with Bro. Robert Cook and Greg Anderson officiating.
Interment will follow in Hooker Cemetery, Lone Oak. Serving as pallbearers will be Gary Dooley, Terry Dooley, Mark Moore, Artie Cook, Jerry Payne, Kevin Hoefar and Tommy Mobley.
Honorary pallbearers will be Charles Moore, Robert Stokes and Nathan Barrett.
Mrs. Fortenberry died peacefully on September 7, 2025, in Rockwall. She was born on June 4, 1941, in El Paso, to Clyde Scott and Ruby Lee Garner Ross. She moved to the Lone Oak area in 1955, where she would go on to build a life filled with family, faith and service. On July 9, 1962, she married James Milton Fortenberry, in Lone Oak.
She was a dedicated member of Lone Oak Baptist Church. She taught Sunday School for over 50 years, mostly in Lone Oak. She was also actively involved in the WMU and a member of the Lone Oak Civic Club.
For 23 years, she worked as the secretary for Lone Oak ISD, where she touched the lives of countless students, teachers, and families.
She found joy in gardening, canning and cooking for those she loved. Her kitchen was always a place of comfort and hospitality.
Mrs. Fortenberry is survived by her son, James M. Fortenberry, Jr. and wife Leah of Lone Oak; daughters, Jennifer Lynn Blount of Denison and Julie Ann Myers and husband Ray of Plano; eight grandchildren, Jill Bergin and husband Chris, Anna Petty and husband Robert, Katie Blount, John Ross Myers, Drew Myers and wife Natalie, Brooke Rich and husband Seth, Maggie Fortenberry, and Jenna Fortenberry; five great-grandchildren, Anderson, Madelyn, Tori, Nick and Ellie; and numerous other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, James Fortenberry; two brothers, Ben Ray Ross and John Lee Ross; and son-in-law, Wayne Blount.
Memorials can be made to Hooker Cemetery Association 819 RSCR 4470, Point, TX, 75472 or Community Seeds P.O. Box 335, Point, TX, 75472.
The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 p.m., Thursday evening, September 11, at Lone Oak Baptist Church.
Services are under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home, Lone Oak.