Obituary of Douglas Scott Fulton

Douglas Scott Fulton, 59

 

December 23, 1964 – January 21, 2024

 

Runner of 37 marathons, including Boston, New York City, Big Sur, San Francisco, and myriad Twin Cities. Trail runner. Downhill skier. Buck Hill ski racer. Fat tire and road cyclist. Husband, father, lover of dogs, and papoo to grandson Jayden.

 

Doug was a founding member of the self-proclaimed Council of Elders (COE). The men’s running group was started in the mid-1990s with fellow Pillsbury colleagues over lunch hour runs. For 30 years, the COE grew, thanks to Doug, who brought this person in to meet that person, and so on. Today, the COE gathers every Saturday morning at Lake Harriet’s South Beach for a run. They’ve counseled, consoled, motivated, ribbed, and supported each other through marathon training, life’s detours, and slowing paces. Doug took his last run with the COE the Saturday before succumbing to complications from the three strokes he survived in 2022.

 

Born in Cheverly, Maryland, his love of running was spurred by the 1976 film Rocky. Before moving to Temperance, Michigan, his family lived in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The family returned to the Philadelphia area often to visit grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and squeeze in a run up the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Doug ran track and cross country at Bedford High School in Temperance, before graduating in 1983. He attended the University of Toledo and held leadership positions in Sigma Phi Epsilon, Ohio Iota Chapter; University Y Freshman Camp; and Blue Key Honor Society. He graduated magna cum laude as the valedictorian of his 1987 graduating class from the UT College of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management.

 

In 1991, Doug earned a Master of Business degree in marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He launched his marketing career in Madison, Wisconsin, at Oscar Meyer, which earned him the nickname Uncle Lunchable from youngsters in the family.

 

In 1995, Doug and his wife Julie moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Minneapolis via a corporate relocation—and they’ve been here ever since. Doug was a strategic marketing and business management leader for organizations throughout the Twin Cities, including General Mills, Disney Consumer Products, and Andersen Corp. He was most recently the vice president of new venture development for Uponor, Inc.  

 

Since 2021, Doug has served on the board of the Minnesota Zoo Foundation. He volunteered for Twin Cities in Motion and recently became a mentor for SCORE Mentors and Menttium Corp.

 

Doug and Julie built their family through international adoption. In 2000, they traveled to Siberia to bring home 22-month-old Edward from Russia. In 2002, they journeyed to Ukraine to meet 19-month-old Jenna, who fell asleep in her father’s arms upon their first visit.

 

Through the years, Doug coached his kids’ soccer teams, track teams, and baseball teams. He was an active family man who carved pumpkins, colored, taught kids to ski, sledded, water skied, chaperoned school camping trips, and more.

 

Doug is survived by his spouse of 32 years, Julie; son Edward (Michaela); daughter Jenna (Rory Purnell); grandson Jayden (Purnell); parents Marie Fulton and Dr. Gere Fulton; brother Dr. David Fulton (Dr. Jeanette Fulton); and many nieces, nephews, friends, and loved ones. He was preceded in death by grandparents, Anthony A. and Mary E. Kmetz and Graydon B. and Odella Fulton.

 

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Saturday, February 10, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. in St. Joan of Arc Catholic Community’s lower level hospitality hall, 4537 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis.

 

Per his request, Doug’s ashes will be scattered where he most loved to ski—Solitude Mountain in Utah. 

 

In lieu of flowers, please send contributions directly to the family for a bereavement fund. Donations will be used to sponsor a bench in his honor along Minnehaha Parkway.

 

In Doug’s memory, exercise to stay strong, rest to rejuvenate, and redirect when you need to.  And remember, a dry, witty comeback always lightens the mood.