Country humor columnist Tom "Captain Stubby" Fouts died on Monday, May 24 at St. Joe Hospital in Kokomo, Ind. Fouts died of complications from a stroke suffered a month earlier.
Fouts was a longtime columnist for several Farm Progress magazines, including Prairie Farmer, Indiana Prairie Farmer, Ohio Farmer, The Farmer and Wallaces Farmer. He was a popular performer at country gatherings, entertaining huge crowds at the Farm Progress Show for 50 years. He and wife Lou have been married for 63 years.
"He loved Prairie Farmer and writing," notes his daughter Connie Livingston of Chicago, Ill. After his stroke on April 28, Fouts was unable to speak, but made typewriting motions to his family, indicating that he wanted to do his column from his hospital bed, according to his daughter. His family assured Fouts that he'd already written his June and July columns, known as "Captain Stubby says."
Captain Stubby's column first appeared in the May 15, 1965 issue of the magazine, after Prairie Farmer editors watched him perform at a Farm Progress Show and asked him to write for the magazine.
Born Nov. 24, 1918, Fouts grew up on a small farm near Galveston, Ind. He started in show business while he was in high school, organized a band in his 20s and landed a job at a small radio station in Danville, Ill., called WDAN. He later formed a country comedy group, Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers, which was a regular for the WLS Barn Dance.
Visitation will be 1-8 p.m. Thursday, May 27 at Gundrum Funeral Home in Logansport, Ind. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 28 at Deer Creek Presbyterian Church in Deer Creek, Ind.
Do you have memories of Captain Stubby that you'd like to share with us? We're preparing a special tribute to the Captain in our July issue and would like your anecdotes and memories. Write to Captain Stubby memories, c/o Prairie Farmer, 1301 E. Mound Rd., Decatur, IL 62526, or e-mail scrabill@farmprogress.com. Please include your name, address and phone number.
In 2000, Prairie Farmer magazine profiled Fouts telling more of his story to our readers. You can check out that profile by clicking HERE.
Fouts, a long-time broadcaster, was eulogized this week on the Brownfield Network by Gary Truitt, including some audio of the Captain himself. You can listen to that HERE. Used by permission Copyright 2004, Brownfield Network.