Marquitta Suzanne Best, age 72, of Clermont, FL passed away peacefully on March 26th, surrounded by the kindness of her family and the wonderful team of caregivers at Cornerstone. Born in Ponca City, OK she was the daughter of Mary and Galen Madderra.

Marquitta leaves behind a loving family; her children Danielle (Anthony) Commarota, Desiree Best, Apryl (Marcus) Hightower, and Michael (Dawn) Best. She has 6 grandchildren; Gabriel, Abrianna, Daniel, Dallys, Hailey, and Gage and a sister Rita Stewart, as well as several nieces and nephews, step and half brothers, and sisters. 

Her school life in OK was filled with many days of playing with her siblings and friends. She enjoyed being outside most of the time riding bikes, roller skating, and swimming at the Conoco pool. She had dreams of taking gymnastics and becoming a ballerina one day. 

Into her adult life she moved to KS where she married David Williams and had their daughter, Danielle. Then, later moving back to OK she met Tom Best, they married and had a daughter, Desiree. They shared two other children from a previous marriage, Apryl and Michael. When all the kids were together mostly for the summers and holidays she would explain the kids as "his, mine, & ours." The blended family made for a lot of excitement and good memories for all the kids, and Marquitta. They enjoyed going camping and spending Christmas mornings together. There was never a dull moment with so much going on.

She worked in several administrative roles as a property manager and doing clerical work for the hospital. Always willing to go the extra mile, making sure her family was taken care of whether it was food on the table or dance lessons, she worked hard, sometimes even working two jobs. Marquitta took pride in the work that she did, especially her organizational skills and how fast she could type. At work, she had a sweet spirit, bringing smiles to all of her co-workers.

After raising her family she moved to NV where she met the love of her life, John Ortstadt. He brought out an adventurous and fun side in Marquitta. They enjoyed traveling to Mexico, playing the penny and nickel slots at the casino in Las Vegas, and grilling out often. During retirement, she loved spending time with her "grandbabies" playing uno, going to the dollar store, watching tv, and getting spoiled by her granddaughter, getting her hair and nails done. Marquitta loved playing cards, eating hamburgers & frosties, watching asian tv shows, and listening to all kinds of music, sometimes turning up the music in the car and doing a dance party in the driveway. Once in a while her children and grandchildren would join in on the fun. She was very proud of her family sharing stories and photos with everyone she met. 

Marquitta had a very challenging life with so many obstacles until the end but she always made the most of what she had, and worked very hard for it. She was well known for her gentleness, sweetness, kindness, and fierce loyalty. Always generous, wanting to give to anyone in need. Marquitta shared her intimate relationship with God, speaking and praying to him daily towards the last few years of her life. Knowing this gives her family great comfort and peace. She is and will continue to be truly missed and the world isn't the same without her.