Obit: Fults, Douglas #2 (1933 - 2008)

Contact: R. Lipprandt
Email: bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surname: Fults

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark Co., WI), Wednesday, February 4, 2009, Online Edition

Fults, Douglas (October 1, 1933 - December 9, 2008)

Douglas Fults died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.

A memorial service was held Dec. 17 at New Hope Fellowship Church, Sierra Vista, Ariz.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Youth Program at New Hope Fellowship, 5420 Desert Shadows, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635.

Surname: Brady, Fults, Haywood, Wolfe

----Source: The Eau Claire Leader - Telegram (Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI), December 16, 2008, Online Edition

Fults, Douglas Peter (October 1, 1933 - December 9, 2008)

Douglas Peter Fults passed away Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.

Doug was born Oct. 1, 1933, at home in Abbotsford, Wis., to Jim and Grace Fults, and he was raised with his older brother, Jim, in Stanley, Wis.

Doug attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He was an excellent second baseman for the university baseball team and later for a military baseball team. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and due to his extremely high test scores was selected for Officer Candidates School and commissioned a second lieutenant.

Doug earned his pilot's wings in 1955 at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., after being selected for naval flight school. It was there he met the love of his life, Mary Jane Wolfe. They married Nov. 19, 1955, and had two children, Rhonda Gayle and Kent Douglas. Mary Jane, best known as "Janie," was a devoted wife to Doug for more than 50 years and preceded him in death on May 10, 2006.

Doug remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, from which he retired in the grade of major in 1976.

After leaving active military service in 1960, Doug and Jane owned an insurance business and the Westgate Motel in Eau Claire. In the early 1970s, Doug went back into federal service as a U.S. customs inspector at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, and then as a U. S. marshal with the Treasury Department. He served as a flying "sky marshal" aboard commercial airliners during the height of the reign of hijackers.

In 1974, Doug and Jane moved to Arizona, and Doug was again piloting planes - chasing drug smugglers across the Arizona-Mexico border. He was most proud of executing the largest airborne drug bust in Arizona history for that time.

Golf and flying were Doug's passions. He was a championship bowler and golfer, and he had flown tens of thousands of hours in many types of aircraft. Doug was a Master Mason who faithfully served for several years as secretary of Thunderbird Lodge No. 15 15 Fand AM, and he continued to attend lodge as health permitted. He was a member of the Marine Corps Aviation Association and the Military Officers' Association. He was an avid sports fan, liked to do crossword puzzles, and liked to travel and play Scrabble with his second wife, Beverly Spicci.

Doug is survived by his wife, Beverly; daughter, Gayle, and her husband, Greg Haywood; son, Kent; brother, Jim, and his wife, Donna; grandchildren, Adam and Katherine Fults, and Christine Brady; and many nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind his and Jane's beloved shih tzu, Mopsie, who he adored and who adored him.

A memorial service will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec.17, 2008, at New Hope Fellowship Church in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Inurnment will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at Southern Arizona Veterans Cemetery in Sierra Vista.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Youth Program at New Hope Fellowship, 5420 Desert Shadows, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635.

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