Diane Marie Fountain, formerly of Kiwanis Road, Taberg, died May 28, Memorial Day, in the Shepardson Unit of the University of Vermont Medical Center. She had been battling cancer since moving to Vermont in December of 2017, following the death of her husband, Dennis Fountain, earlier that year.

Diane was born July 23, 1935. She was a graduate of St. Lawrence University, where she studied sociology and criminology. She raised four children, and for many years, ran two small businesses simultaneously: a dog grooming studio in Rome called The Pampered Pet, and a dog-breeding operation in Floyd called Little Siberia Kennels. Diane also took into the world of competitive dog sledding, where she ran a five-husky team across the greater New England area. At the height of her racing career, she was featured on the cover of one of New York State’s first “I Love NY” winter calendars.

Diane is survived by three of her four children, Bonnie Ryder, Santa Clarita, CA; Susan Baruth, Cocoa, FL; and Philip Baruth, Burlington, VT. Her fourth child, Joseph L. Baruth, Jr., died unexpectedly of heart complications in the summer of 2002. She was very close to her husband’s children, who also survive her, Michael Fountain, Taberg, Linda Fountain, Rome, and Jeannie Fountain, of Munnsville. Between both sides of this blended family, Diane was blessed with many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She was a woman of simple tastes and devout feeling. She loved her family with all her heart. She loved her church, Trinity Episcopal in Camden, and before that Ascension Lutheran in Rome. She loved her home on Kiwanis Road, a secluded spot alongside a creek that she and her husband, Dennis, cleared and named Swamp Hollow. She managed to capture this spot in verse, in the months between her husband’s death and her own:

Once we had a dream and with love it came to be
All our work had created a place of serenity.
But now that he has left me, it no longer feels the same
But our footprints in these peaceful woods always will remain.

A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Monday, June 11, at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Camden.

There are no calling hours.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Barry Funeral Home, 807 W. Chestnut Street.

Please offer online condolences at: www.BarryFuneralHome.com.