BOULDER, Colo — Suzanne Fountain, one of 10 people killed in a mass shooting at King Soopers in Boulder on Monday, is remembered by Boulder's and Denver's theater community as an incredible actress.
"That authenticity that she possessed just shone through on stage as well," said Martha Harmon Pardee, one of Fountain's closest friends.
Harmon Pardee and Fountain made more than 30 years of memories. They met during a production staged at the University of Denver (DU) called "Voice of the Prairie."
Fountain and Harmon Pardee went on to share some of life's biggest moments together.
"She went on to be my matron of honor, and I was present at her son's birth up in Boulder," said Harmon Pardee, who also became the godmother of Fountain's son.
Fountain stopped performing around 2002, according to her best friend. In her last job, at Boulder Community Health, she helped people enroll in Medicaid.
"She wasn’t...the corporate type in any way, shape, or form, but I thought, 'Of course, she was a beautiful communicator, a patient person, cared deeply about people,'" said Harmon Pardee. "So it didn't matter what the material was, she was gonna find a way to explain to people who needed to find that information."
Fountain's death came as a shock to Harmon Pardee, but the fact that there was another mass shooting in America, didn't.
"It has gotten to the point where you’re just like, 'Oh no, again? Again?" said Harmon Pardee.
Harmon Pardee said she plans to honor her friend by advocating for "safe, sane gun legislation and free, well not free, but affordable accessible, destigmatized mental health care."
Others in the art and theatre community are paying tribute to Fountain through social media.
In a Facebook post, Brian Miller wrote that he got to know Fountain while working on “Wit," a play performed at the Nomad Theatre in Boulder.
Tom Rowan, who now lives in New York, found out about Fountain’s death over a Denver Theatre Facebook group.
“I was scrolling through the names, and didn’t think I’d come across someone I knew,” Rowan said. “I was shocked.”
Rowan attended Boulder High School and was in a play with Fountain. They starred in Winnie-the-Pooh at the Arvada Center in 1987.
“I was Rabbit, she was Piglet, and was adorable in it," Rowan recalled "She was a great colleague."
The Denver Center Theatre Company said that Fountain also performed with them for two seasons, from 1990 to 1992.
The company said Fountain's credits included the following roles:
- Major Daughter in Back to the Blanket
- Party Guest in Miss Julie
- Chambermaid in Uncertainty
- Mary Breen in Dougherty's Cause
- Woman 1 in Sirens
Two of the people killed in Monday afternoon's shooting were King Soopers employees. Another worked in Colorado’s fashion industry and had dreams of one day setting up her own boutique.
Another victim was Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, who was one of the first to run into the supermarket after shots were fired.
The 51-year-old leaves behind a wife and seven children. In 2013, he made news for saving ducklings from a ditch.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Boulder King Soopers shooting