RIP Granddad

So I know this is an Ultimate blog, but my grandfather passed away last night and I wanted to talk a little bit about him. This is the first person I have been close to in my life that has passed away and I have realized now that it is possible to celebrate one's life as opposed to simply mourning their death.

My grandfather was Fred Stanton Fiedler. He was born March 12th 1922 in Peoria, Arizona. He grew up in Arizona and went to the University of Arizona for undergrad and studied Mechanical Engineering. After graduating he went into officer training during World War II at Yale University in the winter of 1943. After a 9 month stint, he was transferred to Louisiana where he worked on aircraft maintenance and repair. After completing his time with the military he went to work for Union Oil in Southern California. It was during this time that my grandparents met. Fred was a dedicated employee who never took breaks and always had his mind set on his objective. However, once a pretty little red head by the name of Patricia O'Neil went to work in the office, Fred began taking coffee breaks. This was something he had never done and he attracted not only my grandmother's attention, but that of the rest of the office, "Fred's on coffee break?!?". My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary September 20th of last year.

In 1957 Union Oil underwent an investigatory process where it wanted to determine whether or not internal engineers and architects were cost effective for the development of service stations. My grandfather was one of the investigators (as well as an engineer) and after an exhaustive process, found that outsourcing station design and construction was cost effective. He was promptly laid off, along with his fellow engineers and architects. Rather than abandon his peers, he started a small company known as Fred Fiedler and Associates which is now known as Fiedler Group. Over the last 50 years this company has designed and built service stations for several oil companies throughout the world. My grandfather has personally done work from Honolulu to Moscow and has built a company of his own imagination, more or less the American Dream.

As his company grew, so did the family. My father was the second of 12 children born of Fred and Patricia and in 1963 they moved into their current residence, one of the more beautiful homes in Glendale, California (the place even has an elevator). With 8 bed rooms and 12 kids the house was full of life. My grandfather was an active member in the boy scouts and has 5 sons that are eagle scouts. 6 would have been a Guinness World Record and while he had the sons, they all didn't share his enthusiasm for the boy scouts. In any event, my grandparents raised 12 beautiful children, 8 boys and 4 girls. They have all started families of their own and are sprinkled across the country from Maui to New York. With so many children, my grandparents have almost 2 dozen grandchildren. My brother and I are the first two and there are Fiedlers from 3 to 27, all at varying stages in their life.

My grandfather led a life that most would be happy to dream about. He traveled throughout the world both for business and for pleasure. My grandparents have been to the 4 corners of the earth and have the souvenirs and pictures to prove it. Rugs and papyrus from Egypt, cameos at the Blarney Stone and the Great Wall of China. Endless trips to the Hawaiian Islands and more time shares than I can count. He was definitely fortunate to have seen the world but his mark and his name have been spread beyond his physical reach. His offspring are engineers, writers, dentists, architects, accountants, real estate brokers, military officers, and lawyers throughout our great nation. His grandchildren have become teachers and students in the best universities that include UCLA, USC, Vassar, Yale, San Diego, Portland, UCSD, Gonzaga, and Oregon. Never a more proud grandfather was there.

In order to keep such a huge family close, my grandparents routinely held Christmas and Christmas Eve at their house or the Jonathan Club. They orchestrated not 1 but 2 large family reunions, one at Disney World in 2000 and one in Hawaii last summer. Such extravagant trips were exceedingly unnecessary but my grandfather was committed to sharing everything he had with everyone he loved. It is because of this altruism that I have been able to travel and cover our amazing sport. I am in your debt granddad and I will work the rest of my life as a reflection of your name and character.

I did not actually learn that my grandfather attended Yale until I decided to go here. In my conditioning for Ultimate I run up and down the same stairs he did for physical training more than half a century ago. Luckily, I stopped in Los Angeles this past weekend and managed to spend a few days at his bed side on my way back from Kaimana. It would be the first time I had seen him since Christmas and the last time I would see him breathing. His spirits were high, his mind as sharp as ever. It killed me and the family to see him wither away over a 5 week period from pneumonia but with the accolades and success he has had in his 85 years, I can say without question that I will celebrate his life first and mourn his death second.

I loved my grandfather very much. Once I began my studies here in New Haven, a close kinship between the two of us began that allowed me establish myself in a sea of grandchildren. My only source of regret is that he will not see me graduate but I do have the knowledge that he will be watching from above. His last words to me were, "Get me a Yale windbreaker, I am a medium." I could not help but smirk. His mind as sharp as ever, his hopes as high that day as they were any other. I'll get you that windbreaker and I will wear it under my cap and gown in 2010. I loved you grand dad. All of us did. Your mark is one of the more prominent and fantastic I have or ever will witness and only in my wildest dreams will I achieve what you did. Thank you for allowing me to share your name and thank you for establishing a family so many are proud to be a part of. Not only will you never be forgotten but you will be celebrated for decades to come. We Fiedlers all owe our lives and our happiness to you. Thank you and rest in peace.

match fiedler