"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Budington Kelland
Fred was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 20th, 1941.
As a young man, he started his own business as a painting contractor. He excelled in his business. During his career he painted the Manti Temple, Hotel Utah, and the ceiling of the Utah State Capitol, not to mention countless homes along the Wasatch Front.
During the 1990s he was the President of the Rocky Mountain Council of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA). He also served on the board of the Utah chapter of the YMCA. He helped orchestrate the renovations and re-opening of Camp Roger, a YMCA summer camp facility here in Utah. He was able to get most of the money and labor donated from fellow contractors.
He was an amazing skier and loved to ski the beautiful mountains of Utah. He was on the ski patrol in his late teens/early 20's at Brighton and Solitude. He had a special love for Deer Valley.
When he was a young boy, he met and befriended artist Arnold Friberg. They became lifelong friends. Arnold used our dad's strong jawline in many of his paintings over the years.
He traveled to the Great Wall of China, spent time in Hong Kong and Hawaii, and frequently fished the Salmon River in Idaho. He spent years on horseback and shared his love of horses with all of his children. Every winter for years, he would load up a large trailer with bales of hay hooked up to either the Belgian Shire horse team or the John Deer tractor and groups of us would Christmas carol through the neighborhoods of our old house in West Jordan. These are some of our favorite memories.
He was an avid fisherman and spent many years traveling to Great Slave Lake in the Northern Territories of Canada where he stayed at Jerry Bricker’s Frontier Fishing Lodge. He of course befriended Jerry and they remained dear friends until Jerry passed a few years ago.
On one of his many trips to Great Slave Lake, he met and instantly befriended singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot during a flight. When Gordon would come to town for his concerts and we were lucky enough to go backstage and meet him. Gordon's songs are the soundtrack of our childhood and filled with memories of our dad.
In his lifetime, he had two great loves. He first wife, Rena and his second wife, Kris. His children and grandchildren were the greatest gifts of his life. He was so proud of each of us and would talk about us to anyone who would listen.
His resilience was unmatched by most. He survived polio as a child and post-polio along with myasthenia gravis as an adult. His constant example of hard work, service and love will remain with us for the rest of our lives.
We would like to give a very special thank you to the staff of St. Joseph's Villa for the constant kindness and care they have given to our dad and our family for the last 3 years. And also to the Symbii hospice team who helped us through the final days. We will be forever grateful to the people who have loved and cared for our dad so deeply. What a gift you have given our family.
Fred is survived by his children: Barclay, Brooke (Kelly), Tiffany, Justin (Judy); his grandchildren: Bailey, Hannah, Josh, Catherine (Austin), Elizabeth, William; his sister Yvonne, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends!
He was preceded in death by his youngest son, Jim "Dean" Burns, his mother Ezna, his father Kenneth, his sisters Norma Fay and Renee, his brothers Darrel and Elroy, and many of his lifelong friends.
In lieu of flowers, you are welcome to make a donation in his name to Camp Roger http://ymcautah.org/camp-roger or to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America http://myasthenia.org
Rather than a funeral service we are planning to have a small gathering and celebration of life in the spring/summer. If you would like to be invited, please email Tiffany at tiffb123@yahoo.com with your contact information. Thank you.
