Terri Lynn Deaver, 60, of Chester, Va. passed away on December 2, 2022 after a long battle with dementia.
Terri was born in Maryland to the late Richard Henry Fort Sr. and Drucilla Joyce Fort. Her summers were spent at Ocean City, MD, playing in the waves or sand, and walking on the boardwalk in the evenings while munching on Thrashers Fries. Any other time you would find her either on a softball field or playing field hockey; she had a love for sports almost as strong as her love for the ocean. Terri moved to Virginia and attended Petersburg High until switching to Dinwiddie High where she became an accomplished artist and was even offered a scholarship to study art. Terry graciously turned down the offer, deciding instead to marry her high school sweetheart, the late Michael Lee Slaughter Sr. with whom she had two beautiful children, Michael and Michelle. They enjoyed a life of travel in the Army including an extended time in Panama. The environment was an inspiration for her and she spent many days painting there. Her favorite places to draw were the Aztec ruins that she would carve delicate lines of as she appreciated their history through her artistry. While Terri was an accomplished artist, with a keen eye for dressing herself impeccably, she also had a great love of speed and was known to go quite fast in her Mustang. Later in life, Terri married Kenneth Deaver and they were blessed with two more beautiful children, Cameron and Bryce. Terri was many wonderful things, but her life’s biggest passion was her family and she loved being a mother.
She is survived by the father of her children and his fiancée Kenneth Deaver (Michele); two daughters, Michelle Slaughter and Cameron Deaver; two sons, Michael Slaughter (Lianne) and Bryce Deaver (Angela); one grandson, Jackson Rose; a sister, Gina Weber (Lou); and a brother, Tony Fort (Sherry).
The family will have a celebration of life at a later date.
