Tamera Ree Fortie's Obituary
Tamera Ree Fortie, passed away on 19 May 2023, at the age of 65. With family at her side, Tami’s heart gave out and she slipped peacefully into the next life. Tami suffered from multiple medical conditions for several years. She was strong and lived much longer than her doctors thought was possible.
Tami was born Roberta Marie Hasbrouck, on November 14, 1957 at the LDS Hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Her parents were Irving Elting Hasbrouck and Leona Pearl Jardine. Due to the health of her birth mother, she was put up for adoption by her grandmother, Vera Staker, to Calvin Reed and Leona (Nelson) Bartholomew who renamed Roberta, Tamera Ree Bartholomew (Ree after her father's middle name Reed). Tami’s new father, Calvin, was a power plant construction superintendent so the family traveled around the country quite a bit. A governess was hired to live with them to take care of Tami and teach her reading and how to play the piano. A few months before Tami's 4th birthday, her father, age 37, was killed in a truck rollover accident on 9 September 1961, while hunting with a friend in Coon Canyon in the mountains west of their home in Granger. Tami’s mother struggled for years with the sudden loss of her husband. In Tami's early years, she lived with her mother in California, Nevada and Idaho. While living in Las Vegas Tami was nearly abducted which caused her mother to move to Idaho to be near family. In her teens, Tami moved in with her brother, Cal, and his wife. At Kearns High School, Tami was involved in drama, dance, debate and speech. Tami won awards in every major category, but she specialized in Impromptu Speech. She was also in Pep Club and went to Girls’ State. Tami was selected as Sterling Scholar in her senior year. She won the American Legion Oratorical Contest. Tami was the first attendant to the queen, in the pageant for Miss West Valley. At the end of her senior year, she was a special delegate to Boys’ State and went to The Banquet of The Golden Plate. She attended the U of U with an Honors at Entrance scholarship. During these school years, Tami was in a very serious car accident and spent 3 months in traction. She was briefly married during that time but her husband was very abusive so they soon divorced. After her accident, Tami attended and graduated from Westminster College. She met Ken Fortie, who was a photographer at MarDel photography, and they started dating. She was baptized into the LDS church and they married a year after her baptism. They were married on 4 October 1985 in the Salt Lake Temple. They soon bought a house in Provo where Brian Kimball was born with a rare genetic disorder and was not expected to live long. However, he defied the odds and is still with us today. She was told her second son was severely handicapped and should be aborted. These two trials nearly broke her heart, but she went ahead and had her second baby, Jason Paul, who turned out to be perfectly healthy. They moved to an apartment in Millcreek because of her husband's work as a wedding videographer. She had a few miscarriages and finally had a little girl, Michelle Marie. Their second little girl, Jennifer Anne, was born in Cottonwood Heights, and then they moved to Riverton. Later Tami worked as a Supervisor at an Airline call center which gave her family the opportunity to travel to visit extended family around the country.
A history buff, Tami loved visiting historical sites and learning of European royalty, and early American founders and their histories. She and her husband, Ken, embraced the opportunity to attend dance classes from a variety of cultures, and enjoyed going to dances to practice their newfound skills. Tami was passionate about cooking, and was always ready to prepare a special meal or decorative cake for any occasion. Tami loved seafood, and her favorite meal was steak and lobster. She also had a love for music, enjoying artists such as Neil Diamond and the Beatles. Her love for history, music, culture, speech, theater and cooking, were passed on to her children.
Tami is preceded in death by both sets of parents and her adopted brother Cal.
Tami is survived by her half brother Paul Owen, her husband Ken Fortie, her 4 children, Brian Kimball, Jason Paul (Allison), Michelle Marie (Michael), Jennifer Anne (Daniel), and her 2 step sons, Nathan Daniel (Paige), and Chad Spencer (Alicia). She is also survived by 10 grandchildren, Mackson, Milo, Jensen, Turner, Skylar, Indy, Maddox, Lydia, Eden, and Stephan, along with 7 step grandchildren – Wyatt, Bella, Spencer, Raya, Holden, Beckett, and Redding.
Tami's family is organizing a public memorial on July 1, 2023, at 4 pm. It will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 1540 West 13200 South, Riverton, Utah. They would love to see you there.
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