PDA

View Full Version : Fred Waigand, 1981 thru-hiker



Lauriep
04-15-2014, 07:00
Fred Waigand, who thru-hiked the A.T. in 1981 at age 61, passed away last month. I believe he attended every ALDHA Gathering, and was recognized at the last Gathering in Shippensburg, PA for his continuous attendance. He visited ATC in Harpers Ferry last month, just a week before his death. He may have been 93 years old, but in that visit he was one of the most joyful and thoughtful people I have ever met.

The memorial website for Fred is www.forevermissed.com/fred-waigand. Here is the obituary:


Fred W. Waigand, Jr., 93, died Friday, March 21, at his home. A fiercely proud Marine, he served in World War II, retiring from active service in 1952, at the rank of Master Sergeant.

Fred was the third child of Frederick and Florence Waigand. He grew up in Washington and the Maryland suburbs, living in the area from 1925 to 1955, and serving with the Volunteer Fire Department in Riverdale, Maryland, where his father was mayor in the 1940s and worked for The Washington Star. He was preceded in death by his brothers William and Francis, sister Alda, son Robert, and infant daughter Cheryl.

Fred participated in some of the most ferocious combat in the Pacific theatre during World War II and was one of the last of the Greatest Generation. Despite the fact that he never learned to swim, he twice survived having his ship shot out from under him. He never talked about what he had seen although his family knew he had been in hand-to-hand combat, and to the day he died, he refused to eat fruit (except in a pie) and fish, because that was all they’d had to eat on Okinawa, Midway, and the Pacific islands. He embodied the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, Always Loyal, as he never ever forgot his Marine buddies. Fred didn’t think twice about driving two days to attend a Marine reunion or out to Wyoming to visit a fellow Marine who was no longer able to get out and about.

Fred married Miriam Hazard in June 1948, and they were married for almost 47 years, until her death in May 1995.
Fred’s career was spent working with the U.S. Department of Transportation. But his heart was always either on the road or in the mountains. A lover of long-distance drives and an avid hiker, he was happiest behind the wheel of his Chevy Avalanche or on the trail. At age 61, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georhttp://www.forevermissed.com/fred-waigandgia to Maine. At age 85, he planned and trained for a second Appalachian Trail hike, only to have to cancel when he injured his knee.

Fred was a remarkable man who made an indelible impression wherever he went, whether it was meeting new-found friends at the local McDonalds, shocking his physical therapist by doing squats less than a week after having his knee replaced at age 85, or giving his granddaughter advice via Facebook. He was still putting mileage on his beloved Avalanche just a day before he died and left it with 701,642 miles on the odometer, all on the same engine and with no tune-ups.

Fred was much loved by his surviving family, his son, Fred (wife Ann); granddaughters, Miriam Waigand, Anna Waigand, and Melissa Dewberry; great-granddaughter, Hannah Dewberry; and numerous nieces and nephews.

daddytwosticks
04-15-2014, 07:13
What a remarkable life. Wish my life would be 1/10th as fulfilling and meaningful as his. God bless the WWII generation. :)

TJ aka Teej
04-15-2014, 20:18
Thanks very much for letting us know about Fred's passing, Laurie

MDSHiker
04-17-2014, 10:46
Thumbs Up! Thanks for sharing.