Deceased March 15, 2012
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In Memory
After a full and productive life, Fred died March 15, 2012, in Aiken, S.C., following six surgeries in seven months for pacemakers, a brain tumor, prostate problems and, finally, a stroke.
After Deerfield and Amherst, he did graduate work in math and physics at San Jose State, then worked for 25 years at the Savannah River Plant, a nuclear reactor producing plutonium to “protect the free world from the evil axis.”
A fabled storyteller amusing his children and friends, he would elaborate on the “Bomb Plant” and consequences to the ecology of wild turkeys with two right feet and bizarre mutant alligators. Retiring early, he developed an extensive pine forest and farm, including cattle and pigs. His scientific bent and connection with Dupont, the operator of Savannah River, fostered an interest in biofuels. Clemson University provided him with a still, and he legally produced moonshine, primarily using turnips, of considerable interest to local neighbors.
He was very active in his community. An Eagle Scout, he was a troop leader for many years. He served as chairman of the Alcohol and Drug Commission, served on the Aiken County Planning Commission, was county chairman of the Republican Party and served on the board of Habitat for Humanity. He helped establish the All Saints Anglican Church, where he taught Sunday school.
As a young man, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Schurmeier, and they had five children, 11 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and an “adopted” daughter, Marilyn Abner, the family nearly filling the Anglican Church. Nicknamed Folio Fred for an inexhaustible supply of amphigory, fables, tall tales and amusing fiddle-faddle, he will be long remembered.
Dick Snodgrass ’51