Donna Faye Baugh Fort Chambers, 72, passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home surrounded by family on October 7, 2025 following an extended illness. She was born January 28, 1953 in Wellsville, Missouri, to Robert Alderson Baugh and Roberta May (Nutter) Baugh. She married her husband, Clyde Chambers, on December 3, 2016 at Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Donna had an idyllic childhood. She grew up on a beautiful farm in Middletown, Missouri, surrounded by a loving and supportive family, nature, and tons of animals – pigs, horses, cattle, and a barn that held endless fun. She enjoyed days playing by the creek behind the barn with her brothers and sister. She had a lifelong love of old barns, and she loved to drive around and look at them in Tennessee, Missouri, and elsewhere.
She was very popular in school, named Homecoming Queen of Wellsville/Middletown R-1. Though she never admitted to any dancing at homecoming, there was photographic evidence of it in the yearbook.
Donna married Gary Fort in 1972, and they were married for 42 years. She was an amazing mother to their two children, Brandi and Ben. The kind of mom who put warm socks on her kids’ feet every morning, a few minutes before they were to wake up for school. The kind of mom who skipped her lunch break at work so she could take the kids to Opryland, swimming lessons, or the lake after school. The kind of mom who folded a paper towel and placed it in a Ziploc bag so sandwiches would not be soggy at lunch. The kind of mom who never complained about how hard she had to work to give her kids and grandkids everything they possibly needed and much more.
She made every holiday special, but Christmas was her favorite. She decorated multiple Christmas trees, chose special items for each stocking, wrapped each gift in color-coordinated paper and ribbon, and put lights in each window. She traveled long distances to get the hot toy of the season for the kids – whether that was a Cabbage Patch doll or a hard-to-find BMX bike. She baked pies from scratch with homemade crust and meringue and was well-known for her chocolate pies. Christmas was so special in the Fort home, that her granddaughter, Ali, was given the middle name “Noelle”, to carry on the family tradition.
Donna loved gardening and shared her passion with her children and grandchildren. She knew just the right mix of fertilizer and soil to make her hydrangeas bloom the perfect vibrant colors. She loved red geraniums and English ivy cascading from pots and barrels, and she could not wait for the hummingbirds to arrive each year.
She fought cancer more times than anyone should, beginning at the young age of 40. She was an incredibly strong woman, a force of nature in fact. After she went into remission from her first bout of cancer, she went to nursing school and became an LPN. She worked in long-term care and then became an operating room nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, working as a circulator, making sure that her patients were safe and her OR team was well supported. She was part of the first robotic surgery team in the urology department. She earned her RN along the way. She retired from Vanderbilt after 16 years and upon her passing, made the ultimate gift by donating her body to further the education of future medical students.
Her sense of humor will be missed greatly. She would hide nearly anywhere to jump scare her family. Anything for a laugh, no matter how sick or twisted.
There was no horror movie that she was afraid to watch. Her kids and grandkids took on that bravery, as well. Donna was, however, very much afraid of the wolf who lived in the attic of her childhood home.
In addition to her husband, Clyde, she is survived by her son, James Benjamin “Ben” (Katie) Fort of Mill Valley, CA; daughter, Brandi Ghergia of Ashland City, TN; stepson, Jeffrey (Krystal) Chambers of Parish, FL; stepdaughter, Jennifer (Shane) Kinney of Gallatin, TN; former spouse, Gary Fort of Hermitage, TN; a brother, David Baugh of Stonewall, OK; a sister, Judy (Orville) Hunter of Olathe, KS; sisters-in-law, Peggy Baugh of Middletown, MO, Diane Chambers of Chattanooga, TN; brothers-in-law, Ronnie (Stephanie) Chambers and Terry (Vickie) Chambers of Gallatin, TN; granddaughters, Mia and Ali Fort of Mill Valley, CA; grandson, Matthew (Cori) Ghergia of Ashland City, Tennessee; granddaughter Savannah (Skye) Price of Knoxville; step-granddaughters Aliyah and Hailey Chambers of Cookeville, TN; step-granddaughter Destiny Staggs; step-granddaughters Natalie and Chelsey Staggs of Florida; step-granddaughter Emma Chambers of Florida, step-grandson Parker Chambers of Florida; step-grandson Logan Williams of Gallatin, step-grandson Caleb Kinney of Bowling Green, KY, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Howard “Bud” (Carolyn) Baugh and Mark Alan Baugh. She is now with them and able to breathe freely.
The family would like to express sincere appreciation to Home Matters Caregiving, Donna’s devoted and loving caregiver, Ronne, and Aveanna Hospice for allowing her to spend her final months at home. In the days prior to her passing, her children and grandchildren had the opportunity to let Donna know what an amazing mother and grandmother she was.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 11 a.m. at the Middletown Community Center. Everyone is welcome.
