A devoted hobbyist who loved the outdoors, Arthur Burr Fontaine died Sept. 23, 2017, after a short illness. He was 90.
Fontaine was born in 1927 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and graduated from West High School there. Shortly after, in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Following the war, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and attended graduate school at the Ohio State University. He spent five years working for IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York, before joining the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UW-Madison. His research focused on areas that included antennas and signal processing.
His friends, family and colleagues fondly remember Fontaine as someone with a zest for life and a love of learning. He spent many hours in his wood and metal workshops, working on such projects as home remodeling endeavors, furniture building, and repairing remote control model airplanes. He was a Scoutmaster and spent many hours camping, backpacking and canoeing with family and friends. He also enjoyed square and round dancing, watercolor painting, French cooking, making wine, gardening, and other activities.
He is survived by his wife, Mary; sons Burr Fontaine and Tom (Jill) Fontaine; grandchildren Diane (Jonathan) Will and Michael (Ann) Fontaine; and great-grandson Riley Will.