Fred Maeder

Fred W. Maeder, 85, of Great Falls, a U.S. Navy veteran and a retired industrial electrician, died of emphysema on Friday, November 30, 2012 at a local nursing home..At his request no services are being held.Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Fred was born on October 23, 1927 to John and Naomia (Bullard) Maeder. He attended school at Hugesville and Denton, Montana. He volunteered for the Navy at the age of 17 and was trained at the San Diego facility. He served in the Pacific war zone on the USS Barioka and the USS Onslow. He received an Honorable Discharge through the Bremerton facility. He worked briefly in the harvest fields of the west before working for the Anaconda Copper Smelting Company in Great Falls. He took his electrical apprenticeship at the ACM and became a journeyman electrician. He worked on the missiles and many major construction projects in the Northwest US, including most major buildings in Great Falls in the past years.He married JoAn DeKoning in 1948.He enjoyed recreating in his beloved Little Belt Mountains, whether by camping, fishing, motorcycle riding, ATVing, snowmobiling, hunting, and at one time he tried his hand at skiing. He and his brother Johnny had a small part in clearing the first slopes for what was called Snowdown. His trail riding buddies referred to him as the Energizer Bunny of their group because his endurance and enthusiasm was so great for getting around in the Little Belts. He knew them like the back of his hand. He took pride in his big game hunting abilities and almost always filled his tag. He claimed to hunt at the age eight out of necessity by orders from his father. He said the deer and elk were very intelligent and not easy to outsmart. His expertise will be missed. He can wander these hills all he wants now RIP Fred.He will be missed by his surviving wife of 64 years, JoAn; his sons Mike and Mark of Great Falls, and Niles of Everett, WA; his daughter Roslyn Lynn Rolland of Houston, TX and Tina S. Lorenz of Great Falls; his brothers Johnny of Portland, OR, Alfred of Columbia Falls; sisters Helen Aldrich of Lewistown, Anna Eddington of California, Dolly Hoestetler of Idaho, Florence Miller and Emily Main of Bothell, WA; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.He was preceded in death by a brother Harold; sisters Ethelene, Jeanette, and Mabel.We are grateful for the kindly care by the nurses and staff at Kindred Transitional Center.In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Cascade County Search and Rescue, POBox 2801, Great Falls, MT 59403, or a charity of your choice.