Fred R. Priest, 99, passed into the kingdom of Heaven on Saturday, November 28th, 2020 at New Bethany Skilled Nursing in Los Banos, CA.
Father, Grandfather, loving Husband, and WWII Veteran of the U.S. Army, Fred lived the American dream. He met the love of his life, Olive, shortly before his departure for WWII. After his tour of duty predominantly in the Pacific, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, he returned home to the Cleveland, OH area to marry his redheaded sweetheart and start a family. They were married in 1946 at Shaffer Memorial Methodist Church. Blessed with three daughters, Fred pursued his education at Case Western Reserve University and had a successful career at Ohio Bell working first in Engineering and then as a manager in Marketing. Fred and Olive worshipped and dedicated much of their time first at Shaffer Memorial and then later at the Brecksville United Methodist Church, a place of many memories for our family.
The Wall Street Journal lost their most faithful customer, and we lost a pillar in our family. In his later years, Fred traveled the world with Olive and enjoyed quality time with family and friends who loved him dearly. They were married almost 70 years when Olive died in 2016, and their cruises and RV travels brought them to 69 countries. He’s surely packing the Winnebago with Olive right now, for his next great adventure in Heaven.
Fred is preceded in death by his brother, James Priest, and devoted wife, Olive Priest. Fred leaves behind his daughters Patricia Selinger, Pamela (Clifford) Simms, and Peggy (Martin) Stead; his grandchildren in California, Colorado, Montana and Ohio; and thirteen great-grandchildren.
A private family service will be held graveside at Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider the Brecksville United Methodist Church, Brecksville OH for any donations made in Fred’s memory. We send our sincere gratitude to Yvonne McDougal, the staff at New Bethany Skilled Nursing and the staff at Norwalk Memorial home for their love and care for Fred.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Fred R. Priest, please visit our floral store.