Ferdinand "Fred" Peres

Ferdinand Fred Peres, 79, of Great Falls, passed away on Saturday, February 15, 2014 at the Grandview.A vigil service will be held on Friday, February 21, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. A funeral liturgy will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Fred was born on July 29, 1934 to Ferdinand Fred and Mildred (Erickson) Peres in Great Falls, Montana. He attended several grade schools and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1952. He attended Montana State University where he played football for the Bobcats. He belonged to Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and was active in many sports with football being his favorite.While attending MSU he married his high school sweetheart, Jean Ackerman on December 26, 1953 at St. Anns Cathedral in Great Falls. They had five children. He converted to Catholicism on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1998.Fred was a fireman for Great Falls from 1957 to 1986; Drexel Heights Fire District from 1986 to 1995 and Three Points Fire District from 1995 to 2004 both in Tucson, Arizona. In 2004 he retired from the fire department with the rank of Fire Chief.Jean and Fred owned Petes Drive Inn West Great Falls food concession stand at the Montana State Fair for 14 years; owned, trained, and raced thoroughbred horses under Peres Stables Inc.; owned Montana Sanitation Service Inc.; Fred Peres Construction Inc.; and was a partner with Ken Palagi at the Red Door Bar.He graduated with an Associates Degree in Fire Science in 1980 and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in 1983. He was a Fire Fighter Instructor for the Great Falls Vo-Tech Center and a Fire Science Instructor for Pima County College in Tucson, Arizona. He taught Fire Science to many firefighters in Montana and Arizona with the firefighters receiving college credits.Fred served several terms as President of Upper South Side Little League Great Falls and state president of the Montana Horsemens Benevolent Protection Association.He is survived by his wife, Jean (Ackerman) Peres of Great Falls; sons Ferdinand Fred Narciss Peres of Newman Lake, WA, and Richard Rick Allan Peres of Tucson, AZ; daughters Valarie Jean Eve of Whitefish and Janet Kiefer of Chandler, AZ; brothers Robert Peres of Fernly, NV and Ronald (Lucy) Peres of Las Vegas, NV; grandchildren Kris, Amy, Brandon, Dylan, Dustin, Bridger, Spencer, Drake, and Hunter; great-grandchildren Rylee Rae, Jersey Jean, Luella, Violet, and Gabrielle; and several nieces and nephews.Fred was preceded in death by his son, Jimmie; mother Mildred; father Ferdinand Fred, son-in-law Michael Eve; and a brother Byron.Memorials are suggested to Great Falls Firefighters Local #8, 1112 7th St S, Great Falls, MT 59405.