Lottie Fortune Obituary
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Hope Memorial Chapel - Biddeford on Oct. 1, 2025.
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Lottie Fortune (nee Wladyslawa Suwalska) passed away peacefully on June 2 at St. Andre Health Care in Biddeford, Maine. She was 97 years old.
Lottie was born in Brooklyn, NY on May 22, 1928, the daughter of Polish immigrants, John and Mary (Tecza) Suwalski. She was the youngest sister of Ted and Caroline. Her family and her Greenpoint neighborhood fostered great pride in her Polish heritage and her lifelong love of its music, dance and food. She enjoyed and taught Polish folk dancing, sewed her own traditional costumes, and years later when she married the son of Irish immigrants, they sewed sequined shamrocks onto the elaborately decorated folk vests for their daughters. Lottie spoke only Polish until she started Kindergarten, where she began learning English.
Lottie was the first in her family to attend college, studying health and physical education at Long Island University. No mention of this milestone passed without crediting her brother Teddy's steadfast confidence in her, financial support and encouragement.
She met John Fortune, the love of her life, at a Newman Club mixer. He would help her with math assignments, joking that he needed friends to secretly tutor him before their homework dates. They married in 1951 and enjoyed a loving 71year marriage, anchored by their Catholic faith. They welcomed three daughters, Aileen Marie, Mary Elizabeth, and Margaret Mary, names reflecting Lottie's special devotion to Mary and the Rosary.
Lottie and John were the first in their families to venture beyond the greater NYC area. Educational and career opportunities found them making homes and nurturing lifelong friendships in Buffalo & Hamburg NY, Ann Arbor MI, Marblehead MA, Hendersonville TN, Small Malaita Solomon Islands, Wells & Kennebunk ME.
They bought their first home in Hamburg. They learned to ski to survive the winters and built backyard ice skating rinks. Summers saw huge gardens planted and volleyball nets hung for years of Monday night games that attracted neighbors, friends and co-workers. Lottie was never happier than when surrounded by family and friends, especially in her dining room. Everyone she loved became part of her extended family and what an honor it was to be part of her clan.
Lottie earned her Masters in Education at the State University of NY at Buffalo while working full time and raising her daughters. She worked for many years as a beloved physical education/ health teacher/coach at Bishop McMahon, a Catholic girls' high school in Buffalo.
In Massachusetts and Tennessee she held numerous direct care and administrative positions in Mental Health day treatment, community wellness, fitness, recreation and health education programs. She coordinated hospital volunteers, gave yoga lessons in her living room, organized Senior Olympic events, and visited nursing home patients with her beloved dogs.
Upon their retirements, John and Lottie joined the Peace Corps, and accepted a two-year placement in the Solomon Islands. Lottie's work focused on nutrition and health education, with special attention to the constant labor and contributions of the women in their village. She planted community gardens, formed women's groups, set up volleyball nets, stocked a library with book donations and 12 sewing machines from friends, taught "traditional" American dances such as the Hokey Pokey and left a trail of laughter and affection in the wake of every village she visited.
After the Peace Corps, Lottie and John traveled extensively before settling in Wells, Maine. She embraced her life there and quickly became an active member of St. Mary's Church, teaching pre-marriage and baptism classes with John, attending Bible study and leading a women's Sodality group. She was an enthusiastic Senior College participant and competed on a winning senior Odyssey of the Mind team.
Lottie and John were enchanted by the beauty of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Every willing visitor to their home was treated to a hike from the yellow farmhouse, through the estuary to the sparkling ocean. Lottie volunteered for 20 years, often adding personal notes to membership and fundraising mailings, "lovingly folded and stamped by Lottie Fortune".
She was an election worker, a faithful voter and a lifelong Democrat. She prayed deeply that kindness and wisdom would guide America's leaders.
Lottie loved every dog she met, and those lucky enough to share her homes enjoyed the most charmed lives of home cooked meals, bedtime snacks, massages, trips to the beach and first pick of space on the bed.
In 2017, John and Lottie moved to an assisted living apartment at Huntington Common in Kennebunk. They enjoyed many music, exercise and educational programs. After she was widowed in 2022, Lottie also enthusiastically participated in art classes and delighted in the encouragement she received to view herself as an artist. Prints were made of each new drawing and visitors were invited to select artwork from her portfolio.
In the fall of 2024, Lottie moved to the St. Andre Health Care facility where she could attend rosary and weekly mass, religious celebrations and receive sacraments. In her final days, she was still praying for others. She was often seen laughing as she tried to teach the staff to speak Polish. Lottie and her entire family deeply appreciated the extraordinary, tender care she received from every staff member and Compassus Hospice worker at St Andre's.
Lottie loved spending her retirement years so close to her New England daughters and grandchildren and was thrilled to welcome and love four great grandchildren. She delighted in each of them, listening attentively, meeting their lovies and "amigas", coloring, playing trains and holding baby dolls until the very end of her life.
Lottie's dedication to education and research led to her decades of participation in the National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative and to a final gift to the Anatomical Donor Program at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She eventually will be buried with John at the Maine Veterans Cemetery in Springvale, ME.
Lottie Fortune will be remembered for her warm welcoming smile, unwavering faith, outstretched arms and deep appreciation for her family, beloved friends and a lifetime of blessings.
She loved her life and it loved her right back.
Lottie was predeceased by her husband John, her daughter Peggy, her brother Ted and sister Caroline. She is survived by daughters Aileen Fortune (David Agan) of Wells and Mary Fortune of Kennebunk, grandchildren John Fortune Agan (Washington, DC), Clare Fortune-Lad (Billerica, MA), Daniel Fortune Finn (Cambridge, MA), their respective partners, Kimberly, Kyle and Kristiana DeVito, great grandchildren Benton, Robin, Alexandra and Sloane and many nieces, nephews and friends.
A celebration of Lottie's life will be held Sunday, August 17, 2025 at 1:30 pm at the Kennebunk Unitarian Universalist Church, 114 Main St, in Kennebunk ME. Parking is available at the church and in the nearby Grove St. lot.
A reception, with light refreshments will follow the service. Lottie hoped anyone attending would wear bright colors.
Arrangements by Hope Memorial Chapel, Biddeford.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project ilapmaine.org
Wells Reserve at Laudholm wellsreserve.org
Compassus Hospice compassus.com
St. Andre Health Care standre.org
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Lottie, please visit our Tree Store.
Lottie was born in Brooklyn, NY on May 22, 1928, the daughter of Polish immigrants, John and Mary (Tecza) Suwalski. She was the youngest sister of Ted and Caroline. Her family and her Greenpoint neighborhood fostered great pride in her Polish heritage and her lifelong love of its music, dance and food. She enjoyed and taught Polish folk dancing, sewed her own traditional costumes, and years later when she married the son of Irish immigrants, they sewed sequined shamrocks onto the elaborately decorated folk vests for their daughters. Lottie spoke only Polish until she started Kindergarten, where she began learning English.
Lottie was the first in her family to attend college, studying health and physical education at Long Island University. No mention of this milestone passed without crediting her brother Teddy's steadfast confidence in her, financial support and encouragement.
She met John Fortune, the love of her life, at a Newman Club mixer. He would help her with math assignments, joking that he needed friends to secretly tutor him before their homework dates. They married in 1951 and enjoyed a loving 71year marriage, anchored by their Catholic faith. They welcomed three daughters, Aileen Marie, Mary Elizabeth, and Margaret Mary, names reflecting Lottie's special devotion to Mary and the Rosary.
Lottie and John were the first in their families to venture beyond the greater NYC area. Educational and career opportunities found them making homes and nurturing lifelong friendships in Buffalo & Hamburg NY, Ann Arbor MI, Marblehead MA, Hendersonville TN, Small Malaita Solomon Islands, Wells & Kennebunk ME.
They bought their first home in Hamburg. They learned to ski to survive the winters and built backyard ice skating rinks. Summers saw huge gardens planted and volleyball nets hung for years of Monday night games that attracted neighbors, friends and co-workers. Lottie was never happier than when surrounded by family and friends, especially in her dining room. Everyone she loved became part of her extended family and what an honor it was to be part of her clan.
Lottie earned her Masters in Education at the State University of NY at Buffalo while working full time and raising her daughters. She worked for many years as a beloved physical education/ health teacher/coach at Bishop McMahon, a Catholic girls' high school in Buffalo.
In Massachusetts and Tennessee she held numerous direct care and administrative positions in Mental Health day treatment, community wellness, fitness, recreation and health education programs. She coordinated hospital volunteers, gave yoga lessons in her living room, organized Senior Olympic events, and visited nursing home patients with her beloved dogs.
Upon their retirements, John and Lottie joined the Peace Corps, and accepted a two-year placement in the Solomon Islands. Lottie's work focused on nutrition and health education, with special attention to the constant labor and contributions of the women in their village. She planted community gardens, formed women's groups, set up volleyball nets, stocked a library with book donations and 12 sewing machines from friends, taught "traditional" American dances such as the Hokey Pokey and left a trail of laughter and affection in the wake of every village she visited.
After the Peace Corps, Lottie and John traveled extensively before settling in Wells, Maine. She embraced her life there and quickly became an active member of St. Mary's Church, teaching pre-marriage and baptism classes with John, attending Bible study and leading a women's Sodality group. She was an enthusiastic Senior College participant and competed on a winning senior Odyssey of the Mind team.
Lottie and John were enchanted by the beauty of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Every willing visitor to their home was treated to a hike from the yellow farmhouse, through the estuary to the sparkling ocean. Lottie volunteered for 20 years, often adding personal notes to membership and fundraising mailings, "lovingly folded and stamped by Lottie Fortune".
She was an election worker, a faithful voter and a lifelong Democrat. She prayed deeply that kindness and wisdom would guide America's leaders.
Lottie loved every dog she met, and those lucky enough to share her homes enjoyed the most charmed lives of home cooked meals, bedtime snacks, massages, trips to the beach and first pick of space on the bed.
In 2017, John and Lottie moved to an assisted living apartment at Huntington Common in Kennebunk. They enjoyed many music, exercise and educational programs. After she was widowed in 2022, Lottie also enthusiastically participated in art classes and delighted in the encouragement she received to view herself as an artist. Prints were made of each new drawing and visitors were invited to select artwork from her portfolio.
In the fall of 2024, Lottie moved to the St. Andre Health Care facility where she could attend rosary and weekly mass, religious celebrations and receive sacraments. In her final days, she was still praying for others. She was often seen laughing as she tried to teach the staff to speak Polish. Lottie and her entire family deeply appreciated the extraordinary, tender care she received from every staff member and Compassus Hospice worker at St Andre's.
Lottie loved spending her retirement years so close to her New England daughters and grandchildren and was thrilled to welcome and love four great grandchildren. She delighted in each of them, listening attentively, meeting their lovies and "amigas", coloring, playing trains and holding baby dolls until the very end of her life.
Lottie's dedication to education and research led to her decades of participation in the National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative and to a final gift to the Anatomical Donor Program at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She eventually will be buried with John at the Maine Veterans Cemetery in Springvale, ME.
Lottie Fortune will be remembered for her warm welcoming smile, unwavering faith, outstretched arms and deep appreciation for her family, beloved friends and a lifetime of blessings.
She loved her life and it loved her right back.
Lottie was predeceased by her husband John, her daughter Peggy, her brother Ted and sister Caroline. She is survived by daughters Aileen Fortune (David Agan) of Wells and Mary Fortune of Kennebunk, grandchildren John Fortune Agan (Washington, DC), Clare Fortune-Lad (Billerica, MA), Daniel Fortune Finn (Cambridge, MA), their respective partners, Kimberly, Kyle and Kristiana DeVito, great grandchildren Benton, Robin, Alexandra and Sloane and many nieces, nephews and friends.
A celebration of Lottie's life will be held Sunday, August 17, 2025 at 1:30 pm at the Kennebunk Unitarian Universalist Church, 114 Main St, in Kennebunk ME. Parking is available at the church and in the nearby Grove St. lot.
A reception, with light refreshments will follow the service. Lottie hoped anyone attending would wear bright colors.
Arrangements by Hope Memorial Chapel, Biddeford.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project ilapmaine.org
Wells Reserve at Laudholm wellsreserve.org
Compassus Hospice compassus.com
St. Andre Health Care standre.org
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Lottie, please visit our Tree Store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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