Jean Fort

Jean Tompkins Fort was born March 26, 1917 in Constantinople, Turkey. Her American father moved to Turkey to help build Robert's College and eventually joined Standard Oil of New Jersey building pipelines across the Middle East. He met and married a young English woman, Ethel Clare Frewen in Constantinople, where they raised their four daughters and lived until their retirement, when they moved to Connecticut. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul in 1930. At 15 years old, Jean developed her independence by sailing to the USA alone to attend Friends Academy, a Quaker boarding school on Long Island, NY for high school. Her education continued at Swarthmore College with a bachelor's degree. Her graduate studies in Psychology in Grenoble, France were cut short due to WWII. During the war, Jean worked for the Office of Strategic Services OSS, which was the wartime intelligence agency, in the Middle East division. The OSS was the forerunner of the CIA. At the end of the war she met a handsome Mississippian, Robert W. Fort at a cocktail party. They were married three months later. Jean and Bob started their family in Ardmore, Pennsylvania where they had four children, Wally, Heather, Martha and Jim. In 1956 they moved to Cleveland Heights when Bob joined Medusa Cement. Always active in the community, Jean volunteered with many organizations. With four children she was involved in the PTA for Fairfax, Roxboro, and Cleveland Heights High School. She was a Girl Scout leader, treasurer of St. Luke's Volunteers, President of the Alter Guild at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a member of the Monday Afternoon Club, the Fork and Hoe garden club and a book club. Jean was an avid tennis player. She started playing as a young girl in Turkey, often entertaining herself on the tennis court. A member of the Swarthmore varsity tennis team she went on to play at the Cleveland Skating Club until her 86th year. She was respected for her accurate ball placement on the court and her strong competitive spirit. Her two grandchildren LolaJean named after her grandmother and an aunt and Roy brought her much joy over the years. Her biggest regret was they lived in Canada and she did not see them as much as she would have liked. Jean moved to Judson Park in 2001 after the death of her beloved Bob. Jean chose an active life at Judson. Once again, she took on a leadership role as president of the resident's association and took full advantage of the many activities offered. On Monday February 11, 2013 Jean passed away peacefully with family at her side. The family greatly appreciates the love and care that all the Judson staff provided over the years. They are especially thankful to the Gardenview and homecare staff for the outstanding care provided to Mom during her time with them. There will be a private committal of her ashes at St. Paul's Episcopal Church followed by a Memorial service on Friday March 8th at 3pm in the Judson Park Auditorium, 1801 Chestnut Hills Dr. Cleveland Hts. OH. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Judson Foundation 2181 Ambleside Dr. Cleveland OH 44106 or St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH 44118.


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