Walter Frank Fountain, 84, died July 27, 2021. He was born in Atlanta, GA on April 16, 1937. He grew up in Decatur, GA and graduated from Decatur High School in 1955. He earned a BS degree in Physics from Georgia State University in 1960.
Walt married his high school sweetheart, Frances Hitchcock, June 24, 1961. They moved to Huntsville Alabama in 1962 where he accepted a position at Redstone Arsenal with the US Army Missile Command. He worked in the area of Infrared Physics/Solid State Infrared Detectors.
In 1967, Walt joined NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. He specialized in the area of Infrared Astronomy, concentrating on thermal studies of the moon using telescopes in Tucson, Arizona, especially designed for Infrared Astronomy. He was the leader of a research team that conducted lunar thermal studies and produced a thermal contour map of the moon in support of the Apollo missions.
After Apollo, Walt moved on to the field of Cosmic Ray Physics. Walt first studied Cosmic Rays by sending up high altitude balloons with detectors on them and using high altitude aircraft. He also went down into abandoned mines to determine how far Cosmic Rays penetrate into the Earth’s crust. He travelled to many parts of the world to use high energy particle accelerators such as the supercollider in Switzerland, taking samples to be impacted by the high energy beams. He developed a unique laboratory at NASA dedicated to the study of Cosmic Rays.
Walt concluded his career as a scientist at the National Space Science and Technology Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
In high school Walt was a super athlete, earning All State and All America honors in football. He continued participating in competitive NASA intramural sports well into his 70’s. He loved music and was an accomplished guitarist. He made a positive effect on many young lives through years of coaching youth sports. He loved Nature and took his family on many camping trips and later hiked and explored many of our national parks. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force Air National Guard.
The number one focus in Walt’s life was his family. He had a fierce and abiding love for his family, and they loved him equally. And he was loved and admired by everyone who knew him.
Walt was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Velma Fountain, and his older brother, Austin Fountain. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Frances Hitchcock Fountain; daughter, Elaine Fountain McCormick (Brian); sons, Glenn (Stephanie), and Chris; grandchildren, Brianna McCormick and Carter Fountain; brother, Jim Fountain (Laurie), sister-in-law, Beverly Hitchcock Hanson; and nephews, David Fountain (Lynn), Lee Fountain, Joe Cogbill (Ginger) and Tom Cogbill.
Due to concerns about the recent surge of variants of Covid-19, a small private service will be held.
Donations in Walt’s honor can be made to Huntsville Hospital Foundation, designated to Hospice Family Care, 801 Clinton Ave. East, Huntsville, Alabama, 35801.
