William Fortner

William Howard "Bill" Fortner, 69, passed away peacefully Dec. 9, 2015 of natural causes. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel. Burial with military honors will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.

Bill was born March 25, 1946, in Louisiana. He grew up in Mountain Home enjoying the outdoors and fast cars. One of Bill's proudest accomplishments was when he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army. He served with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam in 1967 to 1968 as a long range recon infantry soldier. He was awarded two Bronze Star Medals for Heroism in Ground Combat and Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations Against Hostile Forces.

After coming home from the war, he married and had two children, Billy and Amanda. They resided in Moses Lake, Wash., where he worked as a cowboy and carpenter.

He later moved back to Mountain Home, where he fell in love with a classmate from high school, Carmen Morgan McCall. They married and he helped Carmen raise her three children, Kevin, Shane and Melinda. He loved taking everyone to the mountains to fish, swim and hunt.

He worked in Civil Service at the Mountain Home Air Force Base. He had a chance of a lifetime to move the Azore Islands after his children where graduated. Bill and Carmen had a wonderful time traveling and meeting many wonderful friends.

They then moved back to the States, where he retired. He then spent his time tying flies, restoring guns, and taking fishing trips to Alaska.

He loved his grandchildren and spent many hours watching ballets, music competitions and sports. Bill also admired the beauty of the outdoors, and he enjoyed shooting the breeze with his family and friends.

Bill was one that made a friend wherever he went and would help anyone that needed it. He was a wonderful grandfather and will be missed greatly. Bill and Carmen were married 30 years and only spent four months apart before Bill went home to be with his Savior. We love you, and you will be missed by many.

Bill is survived by his five children, Kevin (Kristi) McCall, Bill (Amie) Fortner, Shane (Karla) McCall, Melinda (Steve) Keller and Amanda (Jaime) Dominguez; 17 grandchildren, Tyler, Austin, Isabella, Morgan, Layne, Ellianna, Harley, Jordan, Aaron, Melissa, Rebecca, Michael, Jocelyn, Jaxon, Emily, Jayden and Ethan; four great-grandchildren, Aiden, Noah, Xavier, Alivia and one on the way. Bill is also survived by his brothers Joe and his wife Pam Fortner, Jack and his wife Jackie Fortner, and his sister Lisa and her husband James Brantly.

Bill is preceded in death by his wife, Carmen, his parents, his brother and one grandson.