It is with great sorrow that we announce Fred’s passing, following a brief illness, in his 90th year. Born July 29th, 1931, in Kapfenberg, Austria, Fred passed away peacefully at Nipissing Manor on January 20, 2021, surrounded by his loving family.
Fred is survived by his loving children: Netta Lamothe (Phil), DeeDee Woodruff (Bill), David Purkhart, Christine MacDonell (Christopher), Paula Bertrand (Ron), Jan Purkhart and Jeff Purkhart (Allison), his sister-in-law Irene Purkhart, and a very dear special friend of the family, Natalie Dunn.
Fred was predeceased by his beloved wife Lenore (Straus) in 2018, after more than 62 years of marriage, by his cherished daughter, Mary Whitwell (Ken), in 2016, his dear brother, Hans, in 2017 and by his parents, Maria Kogler and Ferdinand Purkhart. Fred will be sadly missed by his 14 grandchildren: Sean, Tania, Erin, Amy, Ashleigh, Nicholas, Darren, Kyle, Ryan, Daniel Travis, Nathan, Bradley and Michael. Fred will be fondly remembered by his 15 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and friends.
Fred and his brother moved to Canada from Austria as young men, searching for opportunity. In Sudbury, Fred met Lenore Straus, the woman he would marry and have 8 children with.
After 33 years of dedicated service, Fred retired from Bell Canada and turned to more leisurely pursuits. Fred loved to ski and was a certified professional skier. He was assistant director of Laurentian Ski School in 1987. He taught the physically challenged which included amputees, and paraplegics to ski and in 1992 was recognized for his dedication to the sport of skiing and development of the “Track 3” and handicapped instructional programs in this region. Impressively, Fred continued to ski right into his early eighties. From water skiing at his lake home that he built in Bonfield, to playing his Wii games in later life, Fred enjoyed exercise anywhere he could find it. Fred was an avid golfer, and he will be fondly missed by his regular golfing group (son-in-law Phil, friends Guy, Garry, Paul and Randy). Fred could be found playing darts or cards, curling or woodworking in his in-home shop. Fred was a very handy man, and spent many pleasurable hours building furniture and other treasures in his shop. Most of all, Fred thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank the staff of Nipissing Manor for the care, support and compassion shown to our Dad over the past 3 years.
Cremation arrangements in care of Hillside Funeral Services. Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, a service will be announced and held at a later time.
If desired, donations to the Alzheimer Society (Sudbury-Manitoulin North Bay and Districts) in Fred’s memory would be gratefully acknowledged by his family.