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Frederick John Marek |
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June 22, 1940 ~ October 17, 2014 |
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October 20, 2014 |
 Frederick
John Marek, age 74, passed away on October 17,
2014 at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on
Monday, October 20 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church
in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
Father, husband, brother, uncle, friend.
Frederick John Marek was all of these things and
more.
He was a man of words. Words of love for his
wife and daughters. Words of support for his
sisters and nephews. Words of encouragement,
words of sympathy and consolation, and words of
wisdom for those who needed them. He could talk
to anyone about anything at anytime and he loved
the way those words could bring people together.
He was a man of craft. He loved good books, good
movies, and good conversations – the magic of
stories, real and imagined. He loved things made
with care and attention, and he tried to bring
that same level of dedication to his
woodworking. He loved the way that craftsmanship
and attention lifted work to another level. And
he believed that no job was unmanageable, as
long as you had the right tool and the right
attitude.
He was a man of people. He was a family man and
a community member. He was genuinely interested
in others and their take on life. He learned
from others and spread what he had learned in
his own life and travels. He valued people, for
their similarities, their differences, and their
experiences. He believed that learning from
other people and hearing their stories was one
of the best times you could have.
He was a man of his time and place, enjoying
wherever he was and experiencing places fully.
From growingup in Brooklyn as the son of Polish
immigrants, where he roller skated and rode the
subway to Coney Island, to his Air Force days in
England, where he spoke Russian with a Polish
accent. From his early days as a salesman in New
York, where he met the woman who became his
wife, to his years of financial wizardry for
Nissan, where ten thousand used cars a month
went through his office. To his final home in
Northern Idaho, where he found friends and a
community he embraced and supported in a valley
that he loved, living his life to the fullest.
Fred rooted himself where he was and gave back
to people around him.
Fred Marek was a loving father to Kathryn and
Jennifer, an adoring husband to Patricia, a
supportive brother to Christine and Zosia, and
an affectionate uncle to Paul, John, Mark,
Edmund, and Robert. He was a friend, a wise
advisor, a drinking buddy, and a loyal
confidante. He was a veteran, a salesman, a
master of finance, and an enthusiastic
woodworker.
Fred was born to John and Mary Marek in
Brooklyn, New York, on June 22, 1940. Fred lost
his battle with leukemia on Friday, October 17,
2014. He left us, brave to the last, surrounded
by his family, at Kootenai Health cancer ward.
Seventy-four years is far too short a time to
spend with someone like Freddy, and he will be
missed more than words can express.
Fred’s family requests that those wishing to
make a memorial gesture, please make donations
to Cancer Care, support and assistance for
cancer patients and their families at
cancercare.org or 800-813-HOPE.
Family and friends are invited to sign Fred’s
book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of
Bonners Ferry Funeral Home. |
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