Betty Rose Fountain truly embodied what it means to carry on the name Rose — she was bold, beautiful, elegant and sharp. She died peacefully at her home surrounded by her loving family on Mar. 20, 2022.
Betty Rose was born in Monticello, Fla., on Apr. 28, 1938. She graduated from Jefferson County High and married her high school sweetheart, James Thomas “Tommie” Fountain, on June 2, 1955. It seems like it was merely a blink of an eye that Betty Rose and Tommie Fountain went from that first date at a post-football game sock hop to growing a beautiful family and building their life in Monticello.
Betty Rose was a very poised yet fierce woman and taught all the young women in her life to follow in those footsteps. Some would say she was a woman before her time and a role model for small-town working women in the 1960s. She helped pave the way for many women when she became one of the first female banking officers at Farmers and Merchants Bank in Monticello. After her time at FMB, she spent many years as a legal assistant at the Caminez law firm.
While she may not have been the best cook, she sure raised a family of strong, beautiful women who loved to cook for her. Betty Rose taught us some of life’s most important lessons, one of them being you do not leave the house without lipstick on and your hair done. She also loved tending to her garden, playing the piano, reading and spending time on the Wacissa River. Betty Rose Fountain will be missed dearly by many but will live on in our hearts forever.
Betty Rose is survived by her husband, James Thomas “Tommie” Fountain; children, Sylvia Ann Fountain, Jacquelynne Dale Sullivan, William “Bill” Sullivan, Rebecca Frances Caldwell, Kenneth Caldwell and Scotty Shebel; grandchildren, Katelyn Rose Levine, Monica Nikole Tsitsilianos; and sister, Mary Frances Gramling. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Preston Gramling and Wilma Fraser MacDonald; and son Baby Boy Fountain.
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