Fred Kear

Fred W. Kear

Fred was born in Pennington, NM on November 11, 1930 to Lillie and Clifford Kear. He graduated from Clayton High School in 1948. He attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska briefly before joining the U.S. Navy November 10, 1950. Fred married his hometown sweetheart, Fonda Scott on January 11, 1953 and she joined him in Hawaii when he wasn’t at sea. He served 4 years in the Navy as an Electronics Technician on the USS Sproston during the Korean War with home port at Pearl Harbor. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in September 1954.

Fred and Fonda settled in Albuquerque where Fred worked as a technical writer for Lytle documenting the operation of the Titan Missile. He then went to work for Sparton Southwest as a manufacturing engineering manager and for Singer Business Machines as a quality engineer. At GTE Lenkurt Fred worked as a quality engineer and became heavily involved with implementing EPA regulations. Later, continuing his environmental work at Siemens, Fred represented the company as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. During this part of his career, Fred traveled to Taiwan to participate in vendor quality audits. After retiring from Siemens, Fred joined Motorola as a quality engineer and finally retired to spend time with his wife and family.

Over the course of his career, Fred authored numerous technical publications including five books, most notable of which was Statistical Process Control in Manufacturing Practice which was published in 1998. In retirement, Fred continued to enjoy writing, documenting his childhood memories, family genealogy, and daily journaling. Often included in his journals were sketches done by Fred. Everything from technical drawings to casual sketches (often drawn on napkins at local restaurants) found their way into Fred’s memoirs.

One of Fred’s favorite hobbies was woodcarving. His carvings included a nativity scene, depictions of biblical moments, chile ristras, and various animals including his beloved pets. Fred became an amateur radio operator, and enjoyed meeting with other local HAMs as well as talking to people all over the world. He continued to enjoy developing many new friendships on his daily trips to McDonald’s.

Fred was an active member of the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Albuquerque, NM where he taught Sabbath School classes for over 50 years and served as an elder. Teaching his adult class was one of his greatest joys.

Fred enjoyed spending his later years with his family remaining active in the lives of his children and grandchildren. He passed away on May 8, 2019.

Fred is survived by his wife of 66 years, Fonda; children Steve Kear and Viola, Stephanie Mendenhall and Chad, Pamela Kear and Robin; 6 grandchildren Lisa Mendenhall, Sara Bernard and Sylvan, Lori Mendenhall, Amanda Kear, Benjamin Yoder-Kear, and Mykel Yoder-Kear; 2 great-grandchildren Zoë and Autumn-Rae; and his brother Don Kear and Wanda.

The family wishes to thank the Heritage Hospice team for their loving care over the last year. The extraordinary care given by Becki, Erika and Yuri meant so much to Fred and his family.

A Memorial Service will be at 1:00 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at Central Seventh Day Adventist Church,  2201 Estancia Dr NW, Albuquerque, NM. Inurnment will follow at Sandia Memory Gardens with military honors. 

Daniels Family Funeral Services
7601 Wyoming Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
505-821-0010