George Ashley Fountain

George Ashley Fountain 1926-2014  On the early morning of March 9, 2014, George Ashley Fountain passed away peacefully at the Southlake Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, Florida. George was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on October 30, 1926.   He was one of two children and the only son of Virdie Louise (Luster) and Manson Ashley Fountain.  As a child, George lived with his family in Yazoo City, Mississippi where he hunted, fished and roamed the streets of Yazoo City with his classmates and friends.  Notable classmates were Zig Zigler, motivational speaker and Willie Morris, author of the book “My Dog Skip”.  During his primary school years, George’s work ranged from grass cutting, newspaper delivery routes, a dry cleaning route man to roustabouting in oil fields.  After graduating from Yazoo City High School in May 1944, George was recruited by College Football Hall of Fame Coach E. Allyn McKeen to play football at Mississippi State College.  He enrolled as a Pre-Engineering major where he played football as a “Bulldog” for the fall semester with an overall record of 6-2.   On January 17, 1945, at the age of nineteen, George enlisted in the Army.  After his basic infantry training at Ft. Bragg, George received orders for his service in World War II as a Rifleman, Rifleman Instructor and Military Policeman, in North Africa, while assigned to the 1252nd Army Air Forces Base Unit, North Africa Division, Army Transport Command.  George’s orders took him to Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Iran in addition to the northern African countries that bordered the Mediterranean Sea.  For his service to his country, George received an Honorable Discharge as a Sergeant of the United States Air Force Reserve on October 7, 1949.          After returning to Mississippi from the war, Delta State Statesmen head football coach E.B. Gene Chadwick reached out to George to come and play football as a tackle.  He enrolled into Delta State Teachers College in Cleveland Mississippi where he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in business.  It was at Delta State that George met Lucy Edlen Chiquelin in Music Appreciation class where he earned a “B”, despite being smitten by Lucy’s charm.  George and Lucy were married September 8, 1951.  George and Lucy began their married life in Jackson, MS where he worked for Southland Cotton Oil Company in sales and as an auditor.  In 1953, he moved his growing family to Florida where he was employed by Cities Service Oil Company, Standard Sand & Silica Co., and Occidental Chemical Co.   In July 1969, George “retired” as an area sales manager and moved his family to Tavares, FL where he built a Mobile Home Park “Les Chateau Villa” on the Dora Canal.  In addition to managing the community he built, George was a Distributive Education teacher at Tavares High School, worked for the City of Leesburg as a Certified Sanitation Engineer and as a salesman with Rufus Pace Mobile Home Sales.  Tavares was home for his family until 1982.  With all of their children grown and gone, George and Lucy relocated to Jacksonville, where they lived out their lives, to be closer to two of their children.  George and Lucy began attending craft shows to sell their crafts, which lead them to travel from New York to Texas, highlighted by month long Christmas shows at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN.  In 2004, their crafting travels ended to concentrate on Lucy’s declining health.  George longed for weekends to camp with his family. His passion for camping included being general chairman of the National Convention of the “El Dorado” brand campers which hosted one thousand campers as far away as California.  He was an active church member never wanting to miss a Sunday service.  Always ready to help someone in need and ready to repair something that was broken.  He so loved his country and community where he lived. He was affectionately given the title “Mayor of Natures Hammock” by those who knew him.  The most remarkable remembrances of George was his honesty, commitment to doing what was right and his ability to devourer fried catfish.      George is predeceased by his wife, Lucy, parents Manson and Virdie Fountain and his sister, Lucille Hariston.  George is survived by his three children, George Walter Fountain, Donald Ashley Fountain and Lori Fountain Brusoski.  George was blessed with two daughter in-laws, one son in-law, eight grand children, two boys and six girls and five great grandchildren, two boys and three girls. George was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend.   George’s spirit remained with him till the end.  While his mind was a go, his body ultimately said no.  Having accomplished his goal of taking care of his beloved wife Lucy during her illness, God has let him rest.  A Memorial Service will be held Monday, March 24, 2014 at 11:00am at Mandarin United Methodist Church, Jacksonville, FL (11270 San Jose Blvd, ½ mile south of I-295).  A reception will follow. George will be laid to rest in Glenwood Cemetery, Yazoo City, MS thereafter.  In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, P.O. Box 6299, Deltona, FL 32728 or French Camp Academy, One Fine Place, French Camp, MS  39745