In Memory of

Walter Fontaine

July 11, 1921—February 15, 2010

Walter Fontaine passed away peacefully at the age of 88, four years after his wife of 61 years. Walter was born in New Orleans, the eleventh of sixteen children born to Marie Anne Roubion and Laurent Fontaine, and a family that traces its Creole roots back to 1700s Louisiana Territory. He lived through the Great Depression in that city, attending Catholic schools where he excelled at basketball and football. He joined the Navy as a pilot early in WWII, and served in the Pacific theatre with the famed Air Group 15, earning a Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He returned to the west coast at the end of the war, and met his future wife, Betty Jeanne Jackson, at the Sandpoint Naval Officer’s Club in Seattle in 1945. The years of their marriage would find them living in Long Beach, California; Lakewood, Washington; then Seattle while Walter attended the University of Washington on the G.I. Bill; Port Angeles; St. Helens, Oregon; Strawberry Point and Rheem Valley, California; then back to Seattle and Mercer Island, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. During this time, Walter worked for Crown Zellerbach, Fontaine & Associates, Utah Construction and Mining, Tacoma Realty, Jones and Murphy Realty, and Century 21 Realty. Walter was a golfer, gardener, outdoor food gatherer (clamming, crabbing, oystering, craw fishing), and a chef of New Orleans cuisine (red beans and rice, bread pudding, gumbo, coconut cake). He was a dedicated walker, in his later years doing up to three long jaunts a day through the neighborhoods of Mercer Island with all manner of different walking sticks. He and Betty Jeanne made frequent trips around the Northwest, as well as to Hawaii, and one grand tour of the Middle East. Walter was known for his colorful tales, strong opinions, southern charm, and memorable personality. He is survived by his children Gary Fontaine of Kaneohe, Hawaii; Wendy Walker of Mercer Island; Lisa Tweter of Phoenix; Peter Fontaine of Seattle; and grandchildren Jeremy Walker of Seattle; Nathan Walker of Santa Barbara; Kristen Walker of Santa Barbara; Sara Tweter of Phoenix; and Renato, Wellyn, and Kent Fontaine of Kaneohe.

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