Shirley Lee (Miller) Fortney

Shirley Lee Miller Fortney, of Liberty, passed away on Saturday, February 14, 2026, at Liberty Care and Rehab. She was 89.

Born on November 22, 1936, in Georgetown, Ohio, she was a daughter of the late Harold Clark Miller and Catherine Louise Thackston. Shirley was a retired Licensed Practical Nurse after thirty years of service in Dandridge and Jefferson City, TN and finished her career at the health department in Dandridge, TN. She was a member of First Baptist Church in White Pine, TN and attended Friends of Faith in Liberty. She loved to cook, crochet, garden, and give more than she received. She had a wonderful sense of humor.

She is survived by a daughter, Jyll Lay of Liberty; two sons, Charles Taylor (and Kathy Goode) Lay of Liberty and Robert Lomax (and Kim) Fortney of Bonneau, SC; six grandchildren, Charlie Lay II, Adam (and Mandy) Lay, Bryan (and Stephanie) Morgan, Sarah Cooper, Megan (and Billy) Waalk, and Caleb Fortney;  six great-grandchildren, Eli Lay, Kennedy Morgan, Ainsley Morgan, Easton Cooper, Max Cooper, Kenyon Biggs, and Mallory Waalk; a step great-grandchild, Owen Harbison; and a great-great-grandchild, Bexlynn Briggs.

Shirley is preceded in death by her husbands, John Lay and Lomax Fortney; and a son, William David Fortney.

The funeral service will be held at 2:00PM on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at McKinney-Brown Funeral Home with Bro. Eric Miller. Burial will follow in Caney Fork Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 12:00PM to 2:00PM on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at McKinney-Brown Funeral Home.

Pallbearers will be Charles Lay, Charlie Lay II, Adam Lay, Bryan Morgan, Eli Lay and Sarah Cooper.

Arrangements for Mrs. Shirley Fortney are entrusted to McKinney-Brown Funeral Home. An online guestbook is available at www.mckinneybrown.com.