Madge Carmichael (Fort) Carrington

CARRINGTON, Madge Carmichael (Fort), a resident of Carmichael, CA, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at the age of 88. Madge was born on August 13, 1935, in Greenville, NC to Dr. Marion Kirkland Fort and Jeanette Moore Fort.

Madge grew up in Durant, OK, graduating in 1953 from Durant High School, focusing on dance and choir. Madge then attended Southeastern State College, graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, and soon after accepted her first teaching position at an elementary school in Lawton, OK.

Madge met her husband, Captain John Davis Carrington in Selma, AL while visiting her sister and married in June 1957, starting a fulfilling and loving life together. This began a period as the wife to a career military pilot which Madge fully embraced, living in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Panama Canal Zone, Arizona, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Santiago, Chile. Madge was also able to pursue her teaching career with positions in Texas, Panama Canal Zone, and Santiago, Chile. After John’s retirement in 1975, the family moved to Madge’s hometown of Durant, OK where Madge completed her Masters of Education at Southeastern State University. Madge continued teaching at the elementary school in Colbert, OK until retiring in 1994. In Durant, Madge was a member of the First United Methodist Church, singing in the choir. Madge also was active in the Fortnight Club and PEO, enjoyed entertaining, socializing, traveling, and musical performances.  Madge was known to hold a conversation with anybody and especially enjoyed watching her sons and grandsons in their sports activities. 

In the late 1990s, Madge and John moved to south Texas to enjoy a slower pace of life along the Rio Grande border in Brownsville, Texas.

Madge was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. Colonel John Davis Carrington (ret.) of Harlingen, TX, her parents, Dr. Marion Kirkland Fort and Jeanette Moore Fort of Durant, OK, her son, William  Kirkland “Kirk” Carrington of Durant, OK, and her sister, Ellen Fort DiMauro of Oklahoma City, OK.  Madge is survived by her son, John (Johanna) N. Carrington II of Carmichael, CA, grandsons, John (Lauren) N. Carrington III of Greenville, SC, Thomas (Bea) R Carrington of Tulsa, OK, and Samuel W. Carrington of Carmichael, CA.  Madge was devoted to her family, lived her life to the fullest, and will be missed by her children, grandchildren, family, and friends.  

A graveside service will be held on Thursday, August 1, at the Elmwood Cemetery in Oxford, NC at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the First United Methodist Church of Durant, Oklahoma.   

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Miller Funeral Homes in Folsom, California www.millerfuneralhomefolsom.net, and Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Funeral Home in Oxford, North Carolina, www.gnvfuneralhome.com.