Frederick Rommel Jr.

Frederick Rommel Jr. passed away peacefully in Bellingham on Dec. 6, 2015, at the age of 80. He was born on Feb. 27, 1935, in Garden City, Kansas, during the middle of a dust storm to Frederick Sr. and Esther (Rahm) Rommel.
  He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Frances (Mihelich); his children, Michael (Jennifer), John, Brian, Erwin and Kevin; as well as his grandchildren, Chelsie, Haley and Dylan.
  Dad went to high school in Skyway, Washington, and worked for Great Northern Railway (one year) in Whitefish, Montana, out of school. He then got the calling to join the U.S. Army and served his country in occupied Germany until his honorable discharge in 1955. Dad worked for Boeing as a machinist for 13 years in Seattle and took part in building the first 747. Dad then moved the family up to Ferndale when he got a job working at ARCO Cherry Point Refinery, retiring as a blender operator in 1985.
  Dad was very social and he could pull anyone’s ear for a conversation. After one year of retirement, he started his lifelong passion of being a long-haul trucker until his final retirement in 2013 at the age of 78. Dad enjoyed a good tale and long-haul trucking suited his social desire to chat with everyone he met along the way. If you knew Fred he could hold a conversation with anyone about anything all while downing multiple pots of coffee with a larger-than-life smile.
  Fred was preceded in death by his father, Frederick Sr. (1997); mother Esther (1987); brother Eugene (2006); sister Violet (1939); and infant son Frederick Rommel III (1964).
  He will be missed by all who knew him and his spirit will live on as we are all better people for having known him.
  A funeral service will be held on Jan. 5, 2016, at 11 a.m. in Greenacres Memorial Park, 5700 Northwest Dr., Ferndale, followed by a reception.
  Donations in his memory may be made to the Mt. Baker Kidney Center, Ferndale Food Bank or Bellingham Food Bank.
  Please share your memories of Fred at www.molesfarewelltributes.