John Norman Fouts

FOUTS, John Norman, 87, of Richmond, VA, passed away from natural causes on February 12, 2026. He passed peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family. John was preceded in death by his son, Robert, and his wife, Betty Ann, to whom he was married for 60 years. He is survived by his son, Timothy, and his wife, Maria, and their children, Joshua and Kobi, his daughter-in-law, Laurie, and her children, Jacob and Savannah. He is also survived by his two sisters, Stevie Kay and Samantha.

Born in Gainesville, FL, John graduated from Highland Springs High School in 1957, where he played French Horn in the band among other activities including learning and teaching ballroom dancing at a local Arthur Murray Dance Studio. After graduation, he joined the Air Force and was stationed at Dow Air Force Base, part of the Strategic Air Command, in Bangor Maine. There, John served as a programmer on some of the earliest IBM computers. He also participated in a local theatre company, The Service Club’s Little Theatre Group, where he had a reputation for stealing the show. It was during his time in the service that he met Betty Ann at a local dance party. After being honorably discharged in 1963 as an Airman 2nd Class, he returned to Richmond and sold encyclopedias door-to-door to support his young family. He then found a better paying job as a keypunch operator at the Bank of Virginia. During this time, he studied advertising and marketing at Richmond Polytechnic Institute, what is now VCU, graduating with a bachelors in 1967. He then joined WTVR-TV Channel 6 as a sales and marketing associate. After 6 years at WTVR, he left to start his own advertising business, Fouts & Son Advertising, in 1974. This company became a family business employing his father, Sam, his mother, Lorena, his sister, Samantha, and his son, Robert. As his company grew, he supported a wide variety of companies in the Richmond area. He continued this service to the business community as an officer in the Richmond Advertising Club. In 2004, John decided to close Fouts & Son after serving the Richmond business community for 30 years. In retirement, John focused on his health by going to the local Mechanicsville gym, American Family Fitness, where he became a fixture four days a week. He also enjoyed supporting his grandchildren in their various endeavors. After his wife, Betty, passed in 2021, he was diagnosed with COPD and dementia prompting a move to Maryland in 2023 to reside at the Brightview Senior Living Facility in Columbia, MD to be closer to his son, Tim. At Brightview, he enjoyed entertaining the staff and the residents until his final day.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Bliley’s Funeral Home – Central, 3801 Augusta Avenue, Richmond, Va 23230 on March 14, 2026 at 1PM. A livestream of the service will be available at the following link, https://boxcast.tv/view/celebration-of-life-for-john-fouts-xw8hfjx59foozqll8cmv?_gl=1

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John’s honor to The ALS Association, https://www.als.org/?form=general&s_src=dropdownmenu