Fred Lewis Fiester

Fred Lewis Fiester, age 97, of Muncy Valley, PA, passed away on August 16 at UPMC Williamsport Hospital after a short illness. He was a lifelong resident of Sullivan County following in the footsteps of four generations of family. He selflessly gave of his time and energy to the County and its residents. He was a man of intelligence, integrity, generosity and devotion to the advancement of his community. His extensive and lifelong public service is remarkable.

Fred was born March 19, 1928 at home, where all his siblings were born. He was the son of the late Leo Harrison Fiester and Jenny Grace Fiester. He was the grandson of Carrie and George Fiester, who owned and operated the Nordmont Hotel. On July 23, 1948, he married the former Helen Kuhnle Fiester, and together they celebrated 70 years of marriage in 2018.

Fred was the youngest of six siblings, raised on the family farm near Laporte, PA. When he was three, his father tragically died after an accident. His mother raised the children through the Great Depression, supporting herself with a small dairy farm, selling milk and eggs and ice from the family’s ice house. She housed travelers at a roadside stop where she served lunches and also operated a Texaco gas station.

Fred worked on the farm as a child where he learned self-sufficiency. He delivered milk and eggs to the neighbors, harvested ice from Lake Mokoma and local ponds and worked briefly as a muleskinner in the mines near Forksville. In the company of his siblings, he walked several miles to school each day to attend the Sugar Ridge School, a one-room school in Laporte Township where he matriculated for eight years. His first school year, he was placed in the third grade and entered high school at barely 13. He attended Davidson Township High School (later the Sullivan County High School) in Sonestown, PA, graduating in the class of 1944. Last year, he attended his 80th high school reunion as the only remaining member of the class.

After graduating from high school at the age of 16, Fred attended Pennsylvania State University for two years. He returned to work for Sullivan County as an instructor, training veterans in agricultural techniques. He married Helen, and the two settled on the land of their ancestors (a Century Farm) where they had their first child, Susan, in 1949. His wife worked as an executive secretary for the Superintendent of the Sullivan County School District. When his daughter was five, he returned to college at Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Delta Theta Sigma fraternity, a national agricultural social fraternity, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in General Science and Agriculture in 1955. He was also a member of the Alpha Tau Alpha National Professional Honorary Agricultural Education fraternity. He was on the Dean’s list for two years. In 1955, he became an affiliate of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. After graduation, he returned to Sullivan County and took a position as Manager of Member Services and Public Relations for the Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative where he worked for 35 years. His son, Leo, was born in 1956.

Over the course of his life, Fred was deeply embedded in the community, serving for decades on a multitude of county committees. He was a member of the Sullivan County School District Board of Directors for thirty years and served as the secretary for twenty years. He was instrumental in merging several schools to create a new, modernized high school, Sullivan County High School, in Laporte in 1963. He was a member and chair of the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission and Sullivan County Planning Commission and was recognized for 55 years of service in 2023. He was a founding member and Board member for 39 years of the Endless Mountains Transportation Authority (now BeST) which was instrumental in establishing the first public transportation system in Sullivan County. He was a member of the Sullivan County Industrial Development Corporation since 1966. He served on the Board of Directors of the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce for four terms as Treasurer and was named Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year in 2023. He was on the Board of Directors of the Sullivan County Cooperative Extension Association. He was given an honorary Keystone Farmer Degree from the Future Farmers of America in 1982. He was a 4-H leader and a charter member of PA Friends of 4-H and was recognized as an Honorary County Agent by the Pennsylvania Association of County Agricultural Agents in 2004. He was on the Board of Directors and served as Treasurer/Secretary of the Cherry Grove Cemetery Association for many years and was appointed an Emeritus Director. He was on the Board of Directors of the Bradford Sullivan County chapter of AARP

He was a lifelong member of the Scottish Rite (Masons), the Odd Fellows (70 years) and the Irem Temple Shriners. He was a member and served on the Zion Lutheran Church council for four terms. He volunteered with the Sullivan County Food Pantry for many years, well into his 90’s. He also volunteered for the Laporte Fire Company carnival. He donated untold gallons of blood to the Red Cross.

Fred retired from his position at Claverack after 35 years in 1990. After, he travelled extensively with his wife to places in the United States and the world. He and his wife worked for two summers at Yellowstone National Park and explored the Western National parks. He maintained an active and healthy lifestyle, hunting and fishing. He learned woodcarving from the master woodcarver, Emil Milan and created numerous elegant pieces. In his later years, he cared for his wife, allowing her to remain at home until her death in 2019. He remained active even in his late nineties, receiving a new aortic valve at the age of 95 and working out regularly at the cardiac rehab facility.

He is survived by his son, Leo F. Fiester, of Muncy Valley, PA and his daughter, Susan J. Fiester, MD of Washington, DC and New York City as well as numerous nieces and nephews (Rebecca, Pete and Joe Fiester, Pete Fiester, Dale and Maryanne Smith, Adele Hix, Janet and Bill Huffman.) Besides his parents and his wife, he is predeceased by his siblings, (Lyndon) Tom, Ruby, Clair, Bert and Warren, and his beloved tomcat, Old Yeller.

Family is invited to visit from 2 to 3 p.m. on October 4 and friends are invited from 3 to 4 p.m. at the McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, 119 Carpenter Street, Dushore, PA. A memorial service will be held immediately after at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Cherry Grove Cemetery and the Sullivan County Food Pantry.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at mccartythomas.com.