Edward W. Fredrick Jr.; Former Fillmore Official

Oxnard resident Edward Walter Fredrick Jr., a former director of public works for the city of Fillmore, died Tuesday. He was 74.

Fredrick was born March 31, 1924, in Ventura. In 1932, he moved with his parents to the Upper Ojai area, where he later attended Nordoff High School. He graduated from Ventura High School in 1941.

Fredrick attended California Technical Institute in Los Angeles and earned an engineering degree from Stanford University in 1947. He served in the Navy during World War II.

In 1956, Fredrick married Janet Knox and the couple lived in cities throughout California and Arizona. Fredrick worked for many years as an aerospace engineer and was frequently transferred, his family said. In 1969, he and his wife returned to Ventura County and settled in Oxnard.

In August 1978, Fredrick went to work for Fillmore, where he remained until August 1984, city officials said. He later became a certified back-flow tester and had contracts with the county, his family said.

Fredrick was heavily involved in Masonic activities. He was a past master of Fillmore-Santa Paula Lodge No. 291 and a charter member of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Ventura, where he was a 33rd-Degree Mason and personal representative of the sovereign grand inspector general.

He was a Royal Arch Mason, Chapter 50, and a member of the Royal Order of Scotland. He was a past patron of the Order of Eastern Star at county chapters 79 and 361. This year, Fredrick was given a service award from the Ventura-Fillmore chapter.

Fredrick was also a member of Elks Lodge No. 1430 in Ventura.

He enjoyed creating computer programs, traveling to Europe and family get-togethers, said his daughter, Jeanne Fredrick Williams of San Diego.

“My dad was always thinking of other people, thinking of things that would help make their lives better,” she said.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Fredrick is survived by two sons, John K. Fredrick of Ventura and Edward W. Fredrick IV of Oxnard, and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home in Ventura. Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with members of the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star officiating. Burial will follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park, Ventura.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Heart Assn. in Camarillo or the Order of Eastern Star Heart Fund.