Rene J. Fontaine, 78, formerly of Woonsocket died Tuesday November 22, 2016 in Florida.
Born and raised in Woonsocket he was a son of the late Auray and Angelina (Daignault) Fontaine. He attended local schools and received part of his education in Canada.
Rene was employed as a senior planner for the State of Rhode Island Division of Planning. His area of expertise spanned a wide range of state operations including highway infrastructure and RIPTA.
Rene was a longtime member of Club Marquette where he tended bar for a number of years. His talents included woodworking and auto repair and maintenance.
Baseball was Rene’s true passion. He had a lifelong love affair with America’s favorite pastime. Rene possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of teams and players and had a special reverence all of his own for the game. In his younger years Rene played Babe Ruth league. Rene remained a staunch member of Red Sox Nation – his support for the Sox never wavered. Through thick and thin Rene never lost faith in the Sox. Seeing his Sox win several World Series over the last decade or so brought Rene no small amount of joy and satisfaction. He always knew the boys of summer would pull it off. The curse of Babe Ruth – nawh! Whoever heard of such a thing?
His retirement years saw Rene crisscross and zig-zag all throughout the lower 48 states, Alaska and Canada. Rene went everywhere. If he wanted to see a place he went to it. Eventually he settled down to the snowbird life of winters in Daytona Beach and summers in the cool north of his ancestral Canada.
Rene is survived by his son David R. Fontaine and his wife, Leslie, of Woodstock CT. He was the father of the late Denise Fontaine died in 1965. He was the brother of Paul A. Fontaine of North Smithfield. He is also survived by a step granddaughter Korina and several nieces and nephews and their families.
A memorial service in Celebration of Rene’s Life will be Saturday at 2:30 pm in the Menard-Lacouture Funeral Home, 127 Carrington Ave. Woonsocket. Visiting hours are from 1:30-2:30 pm prior to the service. In lieu of flowers and in recognition of Rene’s courage in the face of cancer memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 3004, Warwick, RI. 02886.
www.menardfuneralhome.com