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Gil Van Buskirk posted a condolence
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
I met Fred and his family when I was in 5th grade with Irene and Fred was in 7th grade. We instantly became friends. Fred was a warm and friendly young man and my parents loved him. Fred would come over the house in those days for dinner and sometimes a sleepover. We would be in bed watching wrestling or a horror movie until 2 or 3 in the morning. We lost touch and then reconnected in high school. Playing hard ball down at the pit in Kenilworth or softball playing other towns. I went to see my parents one day and they told me Fred had been stopping bye for dinner or even sleeping over. At that time I hadn't seen Fred for years but he had a bond with my parents who loved him. One time I went over to see my parents and they were not home. I went upstairs and there was Fred sound asleep in my parents bed. That was Fred. Years later I connected with Fred through Facebook from Irene. I went on to meet Fred at his daughter Tanya's house. We huged and it was liked we hadn't lost any time over the years. His daughters were so warm and welcoming, a definite reflection of Fred and how he treated people. Over the years I thought about Fred and how he was doing. Fred was not the kind of person you could ever forget. Fred had such a infectious personality even when you were not around him ,no one could possibly forget him. My condolences go out to this very special family. We have all have lost a very warm and kind man Gone but not forgotten, we all love you Fred.
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Denise Oliphant uploaded photo(s)
Friday, April 19, 2024
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My earliest memory of my handsome and charming Uncle Fred was being the flower girl in his wedding to my beautiful and extraordinary Aunt Ivonne. I grew up enjoying any opportunity to be with them as they brought the laughter and made those around them feel welcome and included. I have fond memories of holiday traditions, especially for Christmas, and a host of family gatherings centered around fun-natured, but competitive challenges. From tennis and volleyball at the Swim & Sport Club to badminton, horseshoes, running races, and swimming races at Grandma & Pop pop's annual block party on Dogwood Lane, Uncle Fred, naturally, led the pack and was usually a front runner (alongside my own dad!). I had admiration for my uncle and I felt especially bonded to him and proud to have him as my godfather. In my teen years we bonded further over the honor of sharing godparent responsibility to my cousin/his nephew, Paul(ie) Petrone. It was impressed upon me from a young age the value of family and I was grateful for the unconditional love demonstrated in our imperfect family as we made our way through the years experiencing the highs and lows of life together. In one short stint of his life, Uncle Fred came to live in Texas near where my family was living in Houston. I remember feeling excited for new beginnings and prayed to share my faith more deeply with my uncle. Consistent with his character quality of going ALL IN and his passion, he embraced our faith conversations and actually took them to a new level... The next thing I knew he was inviting me to the most charismatic church in my major metropolitan city where I was honestly in waaay over my head! But I praised God for Uncle Fred's renewed commitments. He was seeking my approval but shouldn't have been and didn't need it. I loved him and only desired for him to seek The Lord to know HIS perfect peace and strength. I believe he eventually did and I continued to be proud!
Dear Uncle Fred, You loved beauty and made others feel beautiful. You loved laughing and made others join your laughter. You were generous with compliments and comedy! You were not one to hold your tongue though and you could be counted on for honesty and the truth, too. Thank you for loving me and for loving my family. Thank you for making us all feel special. You were truly one of a kind and we are sure going to miss you speaking your mind! Until we meet again, all my love, Denise
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Cindy Deo Baker uploaded photo(s)
Friday, April 19, 2024
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To my dear Uncle Fred… there was no one like you. A common quote that I find especially profound is this: “you may forget what people say or what people do, but you’ll never forget how they made you feel.”
To this I say, he always made me feel beautiful and special. A common compliment he would tell me when we would FaceTime - “Cindy, you look like a movie star” - this made me giggle every time. I’m no movie star, but I sure felt beautiful by the time we were finished with our conversation. He loved my children like his own grandchildren, and would always tell me I was doing a good job raising them. He was especially invested in my son Graham’s athletic ability, and was confident he would play pro soccer one day. No pressure, Graham! ;) He never once got off the phone without telling me to give hugs to my family. He cared deeply for all the people in his life. I am so thankful I had the privilege to call him my uncle. My memories with him are countless, and will be held close to my heart always.
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Irene Deo uploaded photo(s)
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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Our family will always hold you dear in our hearts♥️
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Michael Deo posted a condolence
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
My life with Fred:
Usually when I am around Fred most people consider me the quiet one in the group and our friendship goes back to early teen years. When around strangers Fred often referred to me as the guy who married his sister. We had spent a lot of time in our youth together and were the best man at each others wedding….but drifted apart as adults. But, because of his extremely close relationship with his sister(my wife) our relationship/friendship remained. Our mutual friends usually considered me as being the more successful and definitely the more conservative for sure compared to Fred. But what they didn’t realize is the competitiveness between Fred and I shaped and improved my life in many ways. In our younger days at family gatherings we would often have team events horseshoes, volleyball, track, swimming races and it was inevitable that Fred would be the captain of one team and I was always the captain of the opposing team. these events created great competition, fun, enthusiasm and closeness between Fred and me. Fred was extremely good at handball and one day as teenagers I told him that anyone can return those serves of his. So we headed off to the backyard and he served a dozen balls to me and after successfully returning most I thought I had “won” but I realized later that he was laughing hysterically inside (we are all familiar with that contagious laugh) as he looked at me and my arms were scarred black and blue and hurt for weeks. In all the years no one ever imagined a good part of my successes in life was using him as an example. You see I was always competing to be better than he was whether in sports, how he loved his family, his friendships that gathered around him and most importantly, making sure I treated his sister, my wife, as special as he did. The last time I was with Fred, as we were departing we gave each other a hug looked each other in the eye and with a tear validating our friendship for over 60 years we both were aware it would soon come to an end and this would be our last hug.
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Tynielle McCoy posted a condolence
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Wolfgang's love illuminated every room, his indomitable spirit will continue to inspire us all. His enduring friendship was a beacon of trust and loyalty, guiding us through life's storms. As we remember Wolfgang, let us celebrate the boundless love he shared and strive to perpetuate that kindness in our own lives. He may have left this earthly realm; however, his spirit echoes in our hearts eternally.
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The family of Wolfgang Manfred Reu uploaded a photo
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
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The family of Wolfgang Manfred Reu uploaded a photo
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
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The family of Wolfgang Manfred Reu uploaded a photo
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
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Chau lit a candle
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
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I will never forget Fred. To this day, I still see his warm smile, twinkle in his eye, and love of life and his family. He would beam with pride when he spoke about his girls (which was every chance he got.) Even though we never knew what he would say, it was impossible not to be charmed by him. I imagine he is flirting with the female angels right now and cracking jokes with all his friends in heaven.
My condolences to the family during this difficult time.
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Elaine Magda posted a condolence
Monday, April 15, 2024
Having known Fred for 50 years I can honestly say we have lost a truly unique individual. He was funny, TOTALLY inappropriate at times in mixed company, kind, was so proud of his daughters, son-in-law, cherished his sister, nieces & nephews so much, loved all his Grandkids so much and knew how lucky he was to have lived his final decades surrounded by love and being so well cared for. We loved having him for Thanksgiving Dinner because he kept all of us laughing with his crazy stories. He was one of a kind for sure and will be missed forever.
