Fountain remembered as 'very great leader'

ASHEBORO — Hailed as a public servant worthy of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, Dr. Stuart Fountain died July 31 at the age of 88.

A pioneer in the field of endodontics, Fountain established a practice with Dr. Wayne Mohorn in Greensboro in 1972 while Fountain continued to teach part-time at the UNC School of Dentistry. He was a founder and first president of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Endodontics.

Upon retiring in 2001, Fountain and his wife Carol moved to Asheboro, where he joined Randolph Rotary. He also filled the remaining term on the Asheboro City Council of Keith Crisco, who resigned to become secretary of the NC Department of Commerce.

“We got him to fill out the term of Keith Crisco,” said David Jarrell, mayor during the 2009-11 period when Fountain served on the council. “He said, ‘I’ll be glad to fill out the term but I have no desire to run.’

“He was a very great leader and fellow,” Jarrell said. “I really admired him. He was real active in Rotary. He was very civic minded and gave a lot to the community. I saw him two or three weeks ago and chatted with him.”

Current Mayor David Smith called Fountain “a great addition to the council. He kept us on the straight and narrow and focused. He loved and supported Asheboro in everything he did.”

A native of High Point, Fountain was an Eagle Scout, president of his senior class and a football letterman. He graduated from Davidson College in 1957, the UNC Dental School in 1965 and the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to obtain his Master of Science in Dentistry degree with a certificate in the new specialty of endodontics.

He returned to UNC in 1968 to join the Dental School faculty as director of the new graduate program in endodontics.

His obituary, posted by Sechrest-Davis Funerals and Cremations in High Point, says, “Dr. Fountain always said that his life was like a 4-legged stool, with its pillars formed by his family, his dental profession, and his long standing service to NC community colleges and to Rotary International. He became a leader in all of these areas. A firm believer in community service, Dr. Fountain poured time and talent into building capacity for a range of organizations he felt served the greater good.

“For his significant contributions and exemplary service at the state and local level, Dr. Fountain was recognized with North Carolina’s prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine award in 2014.

“A memorial service celebrating Dr. Fountain’s life will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1 a.m. at Jamestown United Methodist Church in Jamestown. 

In lieu of flowers, Dr. Fountain requested that contributions be made to the UNC-CH School of Dentistry (Dr. Stuart B. Fountain Fund for Endodontic Excellence), Guilford Technical Community College (Dr. Stuart and Carol Fountain Dental Education Fund), Rotary International Fund or another charitable organization of the donor’s preference.”