Obituary of Frederick James Himsworth

Frederick James Himsworth April 4, 1926 – October 19, 2016 Frederick Himsworth, 90, died on October 19th of natural causes. He was born in Woodlynne, NJ on April 4, 1926 to Ernest and Evalyn Himsworth. At the age of 4, the family moved to Dayton OH, where he was raised. The day Fred turned 17, he was at the recruiter’s office to sign up for duty in WWII. Because of his age, he needed one signature and got his Dad to sign the papers while his Mom was out of town. He enlisted in the Navy and trained to be a radioman/gunner on a B-24 Liberator, in the South Pacific. During a liberty in Hutchinson, KS, he met Florence Welch at a USO dance and they were married on July 1944 in San Diego. They lived in the Plaza Hotel in San Diego for a few short weeks until Fred was shipped out to Hawaii to eventually be stationed on the island of Moratai in crew 9 of the “Screaming 104”, VPB B-24 Navy Patrol Bombing Squadron. He was discharged in March 1946 and joined the Naval Reserves. In 1950, he was called back up for service in the Korean War. In late 1945, Florence came down with a bad case of flu but just in the mornings. The case of the flu was eventually named Barbara, their first of three children, followed by Dan in 1952 and Andy in 1959. Fred & Florence followed her parents to Eugene, Oregon in 1947 and have been Oregonians ever since, with the last few years in Vancouver, Washington. Fred began working at the Telephone Company in Eugene in 1947, as an installer-repairman and retired in 1981 as a manager. Fred’s goal was to be retired more years than he had worked and he reached that goal in 2005. During his career with Ma Bell, he was transferred to Klamath Falls, Portland and Salem. Fred had many hobbies and activities. He built his own McKenzie River boat in the 1950’s and became a very good fly fisherman. Fred loved golf and downhill skiing. He also became involved in the Very Little Theater in Eugene and acted in many plays and served as President of the board. He shared the stage with David Ogden Stiers of MASH fame. Fred served as Master of the McKenzie River Masonic Lodge No. 195 in Eugene. When working in Portland, the family lived in Lake Oswego. Fred was President of both the Little League and the Babe Ruth League. At that time, there was no snack shack in George Rogers Park and Fred had the idea of building one and was instrumental in seeing this project through to its completion. He was very active in Lakeridge High School sports, especially basketball, where Andy played on the varsity squad, and Fred was the announcer at the games. Lakeridge HS awarded Fred an athletic letter and the Booster Club gave him a letterman’s jacket to go with it. Fred was probably the first adult to ever win a letter at the school. Just last year, Fred wore his letterman jacket to a basketball game at Lakeridge to watch his great granddaughter play. And, the jacket still fit him! He was predeceased by his wife Florence, his parents and his brother Ronald “Bud” and sister Evelyn. He is survived by his children Barbara Klausman (Bill), Dan Himsworth (Jan) and Andy Himsworth (Karen), 6 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Private interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery with military honors and a Masonic service. A Celebration of Fred’s Life will be held on November 4th at 2:30pm at Brookdale Vancouver Orchards, 10011 NE 118th Avenue, Vancouver WA. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver. www.peacehealth.org/southwestdonations. Click on Ray Hickey in the designations.