Clarence Frederick Fountain, of Wyandotte and Trenton, MI, Mattapoisett, MA, and Zephyrhills, FL departed this world on Sunday, January 30, 2022, after 98 eventful years among us. Clarence was the youngest of three children for Rolland and Caroline (Manthe) Fountain. His earliest memories include rumble-seating across Michigan in the Roaring Twenties, while his father’s band played from gig to gig. The Depression bought out some of his best skills, as he became a star salesman who helped support his family and live-in cousins, even at age 15. WWII let his luck shine through, as a combat-decorated, infantry Sergeant (Bronze Star, Expert CIB, etc.) in the front lines of the ETO, whose division (the 78th) suffered severe casualties in the battles of Kesternich, the Bulge, Remagen Bridge, Hurtgen Forest, and Ruhr Pocket. Clarence was more than once wounded himself, but looking around the field hospital at the much more serious casualties, he was too embarrassed to wait around to accept a Purple Heart. Instead, he just got patched up and went back to work. Stationed with the Occupation Force for a time, he would much later recount his post-war “black market” adventures and all too surreal meetings with Soviet troops, but his grandkids just knew those could not really have happened. Afterwards, Clarence, his brother Danny, and some of his war-time buddies went into various businesses in Wyandotte, Trenton, and Toledo. All the while, he and his wife, Lois (Sisson), began to accumulate an embarrassingly large collection of amateur bowling trophies. Of course, every two years was the formal reunion for his combat unit survivors and their families, and the list of god-children and nieces and nephews (formal and otherwise) got ever longer. Republican Party politics also became a life-long passion with Clarence starting after the War, debating all comers at all times with gusto. In 1965 he moved with his young family to Mattapoisett, working for Rodney Metals in New Bedford and New York. Clarence became active in community and church matters (Trinity Lutheran Church in Fairhaven), including serving as Scout Master of Boy Scout Troop 53. He was blessed by several lifelong friendships also in Mattapoisett. At the same time, for a few years he ran a seasonal lobster boat in Buzzards Bay, since fresh lobster was a delicacy few of his Michigan visitors ever tired of. In 1972, he founded another business of his own, Valo Products, in Fairhaven, and continued with that company, widely expanding its product lines, until his retirement. That brought Clarence to Florida, just north of the Spring Training camp for his beloved Detroit Tigers. Of course, “retirement” meant cutting back to a mere 40 hour work week, while he supplemented his income by fixing up and flipping houses in Zephyrhills, as a “hobby.” Also on the positive side, Florida meant more poker nights and close friendships with neighbors like Dave and Mary, at least when he was in town. Within the extended family, it was well known that if there was a party anywhere, Clarence was happy to fly up and join in. Family also knew that a “party” included any construction project or home repair chore. Well-traveled in North America during his business career, retirement also let him travel to Europe and the Mid-East for a bit, checking out the pyramids and other monuments that were actually built before his day. However, eventually the 13 survivors of the 1942 “G” Company, 309th Infantry Regiment, became only one, and then he left to join them. Clarence’s body will be laid to rest with military honors at Michigan Memorial Park, in Flat Rock, MI, near graves of his parents and relations. Still here to remember Clarence as family are his children and their spouses, Ryan (and Linda), Gary (and Jenni), and Valri, along with ten grandchildren, eight great and great-great grandchildren, and an abundance of nieces, nephews, and extended relations (probably most of Michigan). We all said that he could not leave until the Detroit Tigers won another World Series, so this year perhaps they will. In the meantime, in lieu of flowers, if you are thinking of Clarence, you could hoist a new flag next November 11.
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