Mary Fulford Green
Mary Fulford Green, 1990, standing among stacks of commercial crab traps in Cortez. Islander Courtesy Photo
Cortez native and community icon Dr. Mary Fulford Green, 96, died June 9.
She was born in Cortez in 1925 in the Billy Fulford house at the end of 123rd Street across from Star Fish Co.
Her grandfather, Capt. Billy Fulford, was the first settler in Cortez in 1883 and his original house is still standing at the corner of 123rd Street and Fourth Avenue. His second house, where Mary was born, was built in 1907, closer to the water.
She was the oldest of seven children born to Walton “Tink” and Edith Wilson Fulford and had 41 first cousins. For most of her life, anyone who lived in Cortez was a relative. Tink Fulford was recognized as the most successful fisherman of his generation. Mary lived in her parents’ 1926 home for the past 20 years.
She graduated from Bradenton High School in 1942 as valedictorian and went to Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in science. She returned to Tallahassee and FSU in 1960 after her husband retired from the U.S. Air Force and obtained a master’s and later a doctorate degree in education.
Cortez Village Historical Society founder Mary Fulford Green — often called the matriarch of Cortez — serves strawberry shortcake to benefit the Cortez Village Historical Society at the 2004 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival. Mrs. Green died June 9. Full obituary, page 14. Islander File Photo
When she returned to Manatee County in 1974, she began work to preserve the Cortez fishing village and had a remarkable string of successes.
She knew how to lean in, long before it became popular for women to do so. In 1985 after the local government had given approval for a boat manufacturer to construct a large marina and block the channel to Cortez, she led a successful campaign to overturn the multimillion-dollar project.
In the 1980s, she and cousin Sue Turner were vocal opponents to the marijuana smuggling trade that had taken over much of coastal Florida. Even after threats from the smugglers, they spoke out, organized protests and appeared on TV, pushing local law enforcement to stop the smuggling in Manatee County.
She helped form the Cortez Village Historical Society in 1985, served as treasurer and edited the CVHS newsletter for more than 35 years.
She was one of the driving forces to create the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage in 1991 and purchase the 100-acre FISH preserve on Sarasota Bay.
In 1992, she helped fight the Florida DOT’s plans to build a high-rise bridge from Cortez to the beach. She was successful then and was actively against new plans for a high-rise bridge in Cortez up until the last weeks of her life.
In 1995, she was successful in gaining recognition for Cortez on the National Register of Historic Places. This included identifying and providing historic data on 95 structures in the village.
She lobbied Manatee County in 1999 to purchase the former 1912-Cortez School, which today is the Florida Maritime Museum. She helped raise funds to
Mary Fulford Green poses March 18 with a historic preservation award presented to her by the Manatee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Islander File Photo
renovate the museum in 2005 and in recent years to move a historic cottage from Bradenton Beach to the FISH preserve to serve as the Cortez Cultural Center.
She was a fixture not only at the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival but at county fairs and other events selling Cortez books and strawberry shortcake for CVHS.
Her contributions to Manatee County didn’t stop in Cortez. In 1974, she helped create the career counseling program at Manatee Community College, now State College of Florida.
She was one of the founders of Hope Family Services in 1979 and served as the first director of the spouse abuse refuge house.
She also was a licensed mental health counselor, serving on the board and as a full-time volunteer of the Manatee Mental Health Association for many years.
She volunteered with the Manatee County Drug Court, at the Manatee County jail and several Florida prisons to mentor and counsel incarcerated women, helping them rehabilitate their lives, teaching them the Bible and helping them find employment after release. She spoke at several national prison ministry conferences on her work in Manatee County.
She would always say her most important work was for the church. She was a member of the Cortez Church of Christ and invited everyone she met to j
mary fulford green poses march 18 with a historic
preservation award presented to her by the manatee
chapter of the daughters of the american revolution.
islander file Photo
oin her on Sundays, where it was not unusual to see a person she just met that week seated next to her on the pew.
She taught Bible classes by mail for World Bible School for over 20 years and many years taught a weekly women’s Bible class at the Cortez Trailer Park.
Arrangements are by Brown & Sons Funeral Home, 5624 26th St. W., Bradenton, with visitation 5-7 p.m. Friday, June 17, and the service at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 18. Burial will be at Palma Sola Cemetery, Bradenton.
Memorial donations may be made to World Christian Broadcasting, 605 Bradley Court, Franklin, TN 37067, or Cortez Village Historical Society, P.O. Box 663, Cortez, FL 34215.
Mrs. Fulford is survived by daughters Cathy and husband Tom Ryon of Locust Grove, Virginia; Carol Kio Green and husband Jim Kio of Tallahassee; sons Ben of Tallahassee and Mark and wife Mary of Cordova, Tennessee; 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren; sisters Irene Taylor of Cortez and Ann Dean Riddick of Searcy, Arkansas; brothers Wayne and wife Betty Fulford of Stanley, North Carolina, and Gary Fulford of Bradenton; and many nieces and nephews.
Editor’s note: Mark Green contributed to this tribute to his mother.
Irma Linda (Schrader) Yatros
Irma Linda (Schrader) Yatros, 87, of Holmes Beach, died June 7.
She was born June 29, 1934, in Batesville, Indiana, to Reuben and Mary Schrader. She graduated from Batesville High School, attended Southern Seminary College in Virginia and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Indiana.
She was a lifeguard and swim instructor at Batesville Memorial pool.
After teaching for a short time in Indiana and California, she moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where she met and married John E. Yatros in 1961. They lived briefly at Lake Lemon and New Albany, Indiana, before moving in 1965 to Barbourville, Kentucky.
Mrs. Yatros was a guidance counselor and director of gifted education for the Barbourville City Schools and an adjunct psychology professor at Union College. She was a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Hillcrest and Indian Springs Country Clubs, Alpha Gamma Delta women’s fraternity and an Eastern Star.
In 1993, the couple purchased a second home in Homes Beach, spending as much time on the island as their busy schedules would allow. Upon retirement in 1995, they moved back to Batesville, Indiana, and in 2004 made their permanent home in Holmes Beach.
She will be remembered by her large network of friends for being the ultimate hostess. In Barbourville, she was known for her epic luaus and fabulous dinner parties, luncheons and bridge club. Her annual Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s parties in Holmes Beach were looked forward to by many.
The couple loved to travel, taking family trips to Europe, Mexico, the Caymans and many of the 50 states. In her later years, she enjoyed numerous cruises and visits to North Carolina and Kentucky. She loved spending time on her porch, welcoming visitors to the beach and overseeing the comings and goings from her home in Gulf Place.
A private memorial service is planned in Holmes Beach later this summer. Memorials may be made to Tidewell Hospice.
She will be buried with her husband in the Schrader family plot in St. John’s Cemetery in Huntersville, Indiana.
Mrs. Yatros is survived by daughter Mimi and husband Greg Kelly and son Dr. Gy and wife Maria; grandchildren Megan and husband Omel Perchatsch and Patrick and wife Jessica Kelly, all of Louisville, Kentucky, and grandson Nicholas of Holmes Beach.