He was born in Portland on April 14, 1927 to Carl Henry and Norma Hellen (Fetter) Fricke.
He was raised in San Francisco. While in high school he joined the Army and served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Following the service, he graduated from Los Gatos High School. After that he went to a technical school in Oakland. He then got a job at Lockheed working on aircrafts. In the early 1950s, he started working at Hewlett Packard where he met his future wife, Lou Mae, where he was Lou’s boss at the time. As they joked many times, Lou said she married Carl so she could become his boss. They married in 1961 where they successfully blended their family of three boys, Mark, Ken, and Joel. They lived in Monta Vista, Calif., until 1967 when they moved to Hermiston. Carl got a job at Union Pacific Railroad as an electrician until his retirement in 1989. Carl was an avid 49ers fan as everyone knows. He loved gardening, fishing, hunting, and spending time at the cabin with the grandchildren, doing all the fun outdoor things. Carl also loved his walks with Lou where he always had dog bones in his pockets ready to feed his little friends. Many knew Carl & Lou from their walks at Wal-Mart. His friends and family will miss his joking personality and his wit.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lou of Hermiston; two sons, Mark (Diane) Fricke and Ken (Mary) Fricke, and daughter-in-law, Debra Fricke (Joel), all of Hermiston; sister, Audrey Dagne of Fallbrook, Calif.; four grandchildren, Kevin, Brian, Jarod and Jessica; and six great-grandchildren, Madison, Gage, Conner, Ava, Cienna and Liam.
He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Joel Fricke; and sister, Vonnie Augustine.
Graveside services with military honors will be held on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 at 11 a.m., at the Hermiston Cemetery. All are welcome to attend.
Please send condolences at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
