OBIT: Ed Fredericks, 77, Died in Waltham Crash

Mr. Edward C. Fredericks, Jr., of Waltham, died Friday, December 20, 2013 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. He was 77.

EDITORS NOTE: Fredericks died in a recent crash on the highway. 

Ed was born in Long Beach, California on September 12, 1936, a son of career Navy man Edward C., Sr. and Bertha M. (Domigan) Fredericks and lived in Long Beach, New London, Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina and in Roxbury before settling with his family in Waltham when he was fifteen. He was a 1954 graduate of Saint Mary's High School in Waltham.

A master plumber by trade he was the proprietor of E.C. Fredericks Plumbing and Heating in Waltham for more than forty years before becoming a plumbing inspector for the City of Waltham. He was the secretary and treasurer of the New England Plumbing and Gas Inspectors Association.

Ed had a special passion for the sea and was a lifelong boater. He was 'Old School' when it came to navigating; relying on his maps, charts and compass to find his way up and down the Massachusetts coast. His family and their friends recall with special affection the yearly two-week vacations to Martha's Vineyard spent on the boat and where everyone looked forward to the daily breakfast special, Uncle Eddie's pancakes.

He was a forty-seven year member of the Newton Yacht Club where he's been the treasurer for the past thirty years and had been a past commodore. It was there that Eddie made many lifelong friendships.

Ed also served more than thirty-four years with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, retiring in 1992 as a First Sergeant.

On April 24, 1965 he married the love of his life, Joan C. Logan, at Saint Charles Borromeo Church in Waltham and the couple remained in Waltham to raise their sons and have been residents since. After the boys got married and the grandchildren came along Ed became the happiest, proudest guy in town, doting on the four grandchildren who brought joy and gladness into his life every day and who affectionately called him 'Papa'.

In addition to his wife of forty-eight years, Joan, Ed leaves his children, Thomas E. Fredericks and his wife, Danielle, of Acton and William J. Fredericks and his wife, Heather, of Waltham; his grandchildren, Katie, Nicole, Jessica and William Fredericks; his sister, Caroline Fredericks of Williston Park, New York and many nieces and nephews.

He was also the brother of the late Robert Fredericks.

Memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675 or online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.