It is with broken hearts that we announce the too-soon passing of the most gentle of all souls, Fred Schiller. He died at home with his family at his side. As one of our friends wrote, “the world has lost a great man”, but as Freddie himself said, “I had a wonderful life.” We celebrate that.

Fred was born in Penticton and at the age of one week was taken home to be raised on the orchard in Osoyoos. Two facts about the orchard: he hated apples, and he rarely participated in any of the orchard work until he picked apples for pay as a married man.

After graduating from high school in Oliver Freddie attended and quit UBC and then settled into Simon Fraser University in 1965. It had just opened, and was the place for lefties, and this likely contributed to his total conversion to life as a hippie.

He married Wendy, the love of his life, in 1968, and they lived with mattresses and pillows on the floor, macramé plant holders and beaded curtains. Freddie wrote a novel which never sold, and then decided he would become self-employed in the cedar-shake business.

Their first house had no electricity or running water, which the rest of the family found quite disconcerting, however they loved it. The second house at least had water and power and they stayed there paying $75 a month rent for the next thirty years.

Cedar shake making lead to salvaging logs on the Pitt River. This went on for many years, until Freddie stumbled onto the idea of selling boom chains lost in the river back to the logging companies.

He had his own boat and I remember him telling me of when it went down, and how he had his sleeve stuck and how he ripped it off in a frenzy so he wouldn’t go down with it. But this was the life he loved, and he could proudly say he never worked for anyone but himself for his entire life.

Freddie leaves his wife Wendy, daughter Sunny (Mike), daughter Julie (Jason), four grandchildren, his 95-year-old mother Ruth, his sister Moni, and two nephews. Also left to mourn are brother-in-law Greg Hansen, relatives in Germany, and his many friends.

Freddie was beloved by all who met him, and we should all be so lucky to die knowing we positively affected so many people.