May Beatrice Fountain

Mrs. May Beatrice Fountain (née Spitz) passed away peacefully on Monday, February 27, 2017 at St. Joseph Hospice in Gulfport, Mississippi. May was born on January 25, 1933 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spent much of her childhood there in the German Protestant Children's Orphanage. As a teenager, she lived with some of her older siblings in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sophie B. Wright High School in 1950 and married Stanley Vincent Fountain, of Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1951, who preceded her in death in 2000. She was a loving mother and wife, as well as a great cook and seamstress. She loved reading mystery novels and listening to music, while sipping a hot cup of her favorite tea. She was a member of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Opera Society, and performed in multiple opera productions, including Verdi's La Traviata at the Biloxi Saenger Theater. She also sang in several coastal choirs for concert performances of Handel's Messiah. She was a long-time member of St. James Catholic Church Altar Society, and loved singing in the choir, and volunteering for Church events. She is survived by her sister, Katherine Swaim, of Oakwood, Texas; three children, Stanley Vincent Fountain, Jr. and wife Debra (Poole) of Battle Creek, Michigan; Martin Eugene Fountain and wife Michelle (Weems) of Saucier, Mississippi; and Karen Dolores Fountain Windham and husband John Windham of Saucier, Mississippi; 10 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., March 6, at St. James Catholic Church on Cowan Road in Gulfport, followed by a one-hour reception at the Church Reception Hall. A private burial service will be held by family members at a later date for interment in St. James cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the St. James Elementary School for tuition assistance for needy children. The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the St. Joseph Hospice in Gulfport, Mississippi for the kind and gentle care they provided in May's final days; and to Deacon Dick Henderson for providing friendship, prayers, and spiritual support to May and her family during that time. The Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.