Martha Jo Dean
1935–2026
Martha Jo Dean (Fortner), age 91, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on September 13, 2026, in the Tampa home of her daughter Deborah Jo and husband Charles Richards where she had received loving care since 2016. She passed peacefully with her adoring family in attendance.
Martha Jo was born in 1935 in Concord, North Carolina, to John W. Fortner and Lizzie Leazer Fortner. She grew up in China Grove, Salisbury, and Kannapolis, North Carolina.
At the age of 15, Martha Jo was introduced to Kenneth Dean, 16, at Oxon Hill Baptist Church. They had both come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior the year before, and their shared faith became the foundation of their life together. They enjoyed serving in their local church, where Martha Jo played the piano and sang duets with Kenneth. They were on an evangelistic team and traveled to youth rallies where Kenneth preached and she played piano.
God called Martha Jo to Piedmont Bible College in Winston Salem, NC and Kenneth followed soon after. They were married on June 5, 1954 following their Junior year of college.
Martha Jo went on to earn her Bachelor of Religious Education. Years later, when her youngest children were school age, she continued her education and earned a master’s degree in Special Education in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and did work on her doctorate at UNC Charlotte. She devoted much of her professional life to teaching students with special needs and later served as a college professor. Her compassion for the underserved was evident not only in her career but throughout every part of her life.
As a pastor’s wife, Martha Jo faithfully served alongside her husband in ministry. She taught women’s Bible studies and children’s Sunday school, played the piano, sang in the choir, practiced hospitality, and lovingly cared for the people God placed in her path. She deeply loved Jesus and was always concerned for the eternal souls of others.
Martha Jo and Kenneth established two Christian schools (Maryland and Florida). They started two churches from Bible studies in their home which are still going strong today. Allentown Baptist in Fort Washington, MD and Independent Baptist in Clinton, MD. They were able to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of both! All glory to God as
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.“
Psalm 127:1 which Kenneth often quoted.
God called Kenneth and Martha Jo to serve in Utah during their senior years. She served the precious congregation of Cornerstone Baptist in Tooele alongside her husband, Pastor Kenneth Dean for 14 years. She taught at Stansbury Elementary School for a year and then substitute taught and tutored well into her 70’s. She was a life long student and teacher.
Martha Jo was a passionate and innovative educator. She developed a program for Adult Literacy and Study Skills for a Christian university to help men called into ministry later in life who needed remedial help to succeed at a collegiate level. Many of the pastors who benefited from her reading clinic credited her with their ability to complete college with some going on to earn Graduate degrees.
Martha Jo was social, outgoing, bubbly, witty, spontaneous, and adventurous. She was also wise, compassionate, nurturing, patient, and deeply hospitable. She loved her little dogs and delighted in playing games with her family, reading, sewing, gardening, growing medicinal herbs, playing the piano, and singing with her husband sitting beside her at the piano. She loved to read her Bible and sing hymns. The day before she passed she was having a singalong with her darling caregiver Dorcas. “Oh, How I Love Jesus” was one of the songs they enjoyed together.
Above all, Martha Jo was a devoted woman of faith and a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. Her life was marked by her love for Jesus, her care for others, and her faithful investment in her family and in the work of the Lord. Her children will testify that she was their very best and most fun teacher. She was a tremendous encourager to her children and students, helping them to see all they could accomplish with the Lord’s help and doing their very best with the gifts and talents God had given them. “Her children rise up and called her blessed.” Proverbs 31:28
Martha Jo is survived by her brother, Edward Fortner; her children, Elizabeth Copeland and her husband, Richard; Lois Lane and her husband, Reverend David; Deborah Jo Richards and her husband, Pastor Charles; Karol Watkins and her husband, Pastor Nathan; Kenneth Dean and his wife, Dilek; and Jonathan Dean and his wife, Wendy. She also leaves a treasured legacy of 20 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren, as well as many extended family members and dear friends.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Kenneth Marvin Dean; her parents, John W. and Lizzie Leazer Fortner; her infant son, Daniel David Dean; her brother, Jerry M. Fortner; her sisters-in-law, Molly Fortner and Virginia Fortner; her grandson, Benjamin Richards; and her infant great-granddaughter, Kaitlin Pennington.
Martha Jo will be greatly missed, but her family rejoices in the assurance that she is now in the presence of the Savior she loved and faithfully served.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in the chapel at Sunset Memory Gardens in Thonotosassa, Florida. The viewing will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the service at 11:00 a.m.
Burial will be in Tooele, Utah.
Martha Jo loved the color purple, and family and friends are warmly invited to wear purple in her honor on the day of her celebration.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request that gifts be given to the
Martha Jo Dean Memorial fund at
El Bethel Baptist Church in Tampa, FL.
Burial will be in the Tooele City Cemetery, Tooele, Utah next to her beloved husband.