Memorial Mass for Jean Fountain, age 95, will be held Friday, March 28, 2025 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Jefferson. Interment will be in St. Joseph Cemetery in Jefferson.
Jean Fountain was born in Jamaica, Iowa, July 18, 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression. Six months later the Nation family moved from Jamaica to Rippey, where she graduated from Rippey high school.
She had fond memories of taking the train from Rippey to Grand Junction to the weekly Friday night dances. It was at one of these dances that she met Darrell during a circle dance. Their relationship blossomed and they were married on Aug. 16, 1949. While farm life was difficult, she worked hard and together Jean and Darrell raised a family and became stalwart members of the Jefferson farm community.
When their farming fortunes took a turn for the worse, Jean began to look for new ways to make her way. She often mused that she raised a big family and then went to work. This was no easy task because at that time, at the age of 53, most businesses were simply not interested in hiring women of her age. They were not interested in hiring anyone that close to retirement, let alone a woman.
Fortunately, while pursuing her job search, she discovered that the Jefferson Mode-O-Day clothing franchise was for sale and. seizing the opportunity. she promptly purchased the franchise for $12. And thus began her career in business. Having sewn to keep a large farm family in clothes, she knew fabrics and knew how to assess clothes for quality and value.
Jean soon discovered that she also had a flair for the women’s retail clothing business and in only a few short years found herself wanting more control of her business. Once again fortune created opportunity. The local Fashion III clothing store in Perry was closing, and she was able to purchase the store’s existing inventory, sell the Mode-O-Day franchise, and open a new independent clothing store, naming it Mary Ann’s. But still her appetite for expanded women’s retail was not satisfied and she soon found that she needed more space to grow her inventory and further satisfy her rapidly growing customer base.
When she turned 70, she turned her age to her benefit, taking advantage of airlines senior citizen tickets to inexpensively expand her clothing market opportunities by flying to multiple markets across the country. She eventually purchased the old J.C. Penny building, remodeled the store and continued building a successful retail clothing business until she retired at age 78. But women’s clothing and entrepreneurship were not her only passions.
While at in Charlotte, SC, she heard a gentleman describing a 10-day tour to Russia for $1,900 and, finding the opportunity intriguing, decided to join the travel group. Only five days later she was in Russia. That was the beginning of her extensive world travels. She would eventually travel to all seven continents, more than 75 countries, and meet countless people around the world. She loved learning about the people and cultures and approached her travel with the same energy and attention to detail as her businesses, always studying the country to which she was traveling to take maximum advantage of the opportunity that God had given her to travel. Jean Fountain was a voracious reader, loved working with women’s clothes, and thrived when she could take charge of an activity.
Jean passed away March 23, 2025, at Greene County Medical Center. She was preceded in death by her husband Darrell, her brother Jack Nation, and children Dennis Fountain, Barbara Mack, Margaret Mary Fountain, and Douglas Fountain.
She is survived by her family members Linda (Randy) Hedges, David (Linda) Fountain, Darrell (Melody) Fountain, and Mary Ann Fountain; 12 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Donna Smith; other relatives and friends.
Memorials in Jean’s name are suggested to St. Joseph Catholic Church or Jefferson Public Library.
