Griswold - Edgar Fontaine, the man who could put a smile on any person, or pumpkin's, face, died Monday.

Fontaine took his own life, said his son, Dean Fontaine. Edgar was 86 years old and beginning to decline in health, Dean said.

"He lived life on his own terms and ended it on his terms," Dean said Tuesday. "He did not want his care to be a burden on anyone."

The former dairy farmer will be remembered for his brilliant pumpkin displays, which lit up the October sky for more than a decade.

"There's no ghosts. No screaming. Just pumpkins and Christmas lights," Edgar said in a 2007 article published in The Day. "I see it as a nice way to celebrate Halloween. I enjoy doing it because I enjoy watching the young children come to see what's here."

Fontaine had more than 50 acres of pumpkin patch on his sprawling property at 70 Norman Road. The first year, he started with 40 pumpkins. The second year, it grew to 70. At the peak in 2006, more than 400 carved pumpkins were set atop the stone wall and building of Fontaine's home, which he proclaimed the "Jack-O'-Lantern Castle."

It began with Fontaine alone carving designs into the gourds. Then neighbors and other residents pitched in to carve. Soon after, community carving events were held at the Griswold Senior Center to add to the unique fall display.

People from around the state would come to walk among the glowing jack-o'-lanterns, a tradition Fontaine said in 2003 that he started because he "was bored."

Residents believe Fontaine put on the annual display because of his big heart.

Charlie Gagne, a friend of Fontaine's for more than 40 years, said Tuesday that "everybody knows Edgar."

Gagne said in addition to the yearly pumpkin display, Fontaine was a Boy Scout leader for years, participated in the annual Turkey Dip to benefit the Griswold High School booster club and would organize blood drives. His sense of humor and cheerful attitude were legendary, Gagne said.

"On St. Patrick's Day, he'd dye his hair and beard green and wear green clothes to look like a leprechaun, and he really did," Gagne said with a laugh. "He'd go around to nursing homes and hospitals to cheer people up and go to the senior center and do the same thing. He just kept busy."

Fontaine's community-oriented kindness was remembered Tuesday at the Griswold Senior Center, where director Tina Falck recalled a man who "was very good to the senior center."

"He did the pumpkin carving in the community, and he was quite the gardener," Falck said. "The entire summer, he would share his vegetables. He'd leave them on the table for seniors that wouldn't otherwise get fresh vegetables. He had beautiful flower gardens and would bring in bouquets for the staff. We're going to miss that."

Dean Fontaine said his father performed all sorts of odd jobs but also was a caretaker at Ashland Manor, a school bus driver, a postmaster, an ambulance driver and a volunteer firefighter.

Edgar's work with the elderly, though, had a profound effect on his own life outlook, Dean said.

"He had talked about (death)," Dean said. "He was deathly afraid of becoming the living dead, of waiting to die in a hospital."

While Edgar had meticulously planned the circumstances of his death, there's one thing Dean said still needs to be done: grow pumpkins for this year's Halloween display.

"If I get some help, I'd like to try, just for him," Dean said, "in loving memory of."

s.goldstein@theday.com