Fountiene Duda Prince, age 84, passed away peacefully in Bellingham, Washington on Sat. Aug. 24, 2019.

Fountiene was born June 3, 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska. After moving to Long Beach, she attended Longfellow Elementary School. In 1950 her family moved to Burbank, California, where she attended Burbank High School and graduated in 1953 as an accomplished violinist. She received an academic scholarship to Michigan State University, where she spent her first 2 years of college. She then transferred to University of Southern California and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1957.

On June 28, 1958, Fountiene married John Dudley Prince, a Naval officer stationed in San Diego. After their marriage and John’s retirement from the Navy, Fountiene and John moved to Ukiah, California where they both taught grade school. They returned to the Southern California area in 1959 and continued to work as teachers in the Simi Valley School District.

In 1960, Fountiene and John started their family. Fountiene was the loving mother of three children; Wendy Lee (1960), John Fredrick (1962), and Jeffrey Alden (1964). In 1978, after 18 years of staying at home to raise her family, she returned to graduate school to earn her MS in Psychology. She was a counselor for the Oak Park School district until 1998, when she returned to graduate school and obtained a PhD in Psychology. After receiving her PhD, she worked in the adolescent ward at Charter Hospital and also managed her own private practice until she retired in December of 2000.

In 1994, Fountiene and John built a vacation home on Orcas Island, a place Fountiene had fallen in love with after visiting on vacation. Fountiene spent her later years on Orcas Island hiking the trails, visiting neighboring islands, and enjoying a wonderful retirement with friends and family. Fountiene loved to cook and sew, and was most happy when she was helping others. She also loved to travel, and made numerous trips to reconnect with her relatives in the Czech Republic.

Fountiene was preceded in death by her mother Fountiene Lee Duda and Ferdinand Vincent Duda is survived by her husband of 61 years, John; her brother Fritz; her three children Wendy, John and Jeff; and her 10 grandchildren Chris, Katie, Jordan, Natasha, Carter, Alex, Scarlett, Alden, John and Melia. Family, friends and others whose lives were touched by Fountiene are invited to attend a memorial service on Orcas Island at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 242 Main St, Eastsound, WA 98245 on Saturday, September 7 at 1pm.