Fred Vincent Scimeca
July 7, 1933 ~ April 20, 2020
Fred was born in 1933 and grew up in Lodi, New Jersey. The son of Joseph and Anna Scimeca he treasured his two younger sisters JoAnne and Connie. After he graduated from Lodi High School in 1951 he joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Thule, Greenland during the Korean war. After 4 years in the Air Force, he became an Air Traffic Controller with the FAA at National Airport and Leesburg Center in Virginia. Fred and his new wife Mary moved to Virginia. During the time he was an Air Traffic Controller, he also attended college and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Shepherd College. Fred and Mary had four children during this time. He later went on to become one of the supervisors at the Air Traffic Controllers Center. After retirement from 29 years of service with the US government he worked for a private corporation as a Flight Simulation Instructor. He then went on to work for a private corporation that was contracted by the Federal Government to help several Air Traffic Control locations around the country to seamlessly update their new radar systems which he helped to develop.
Fred was an energetic guy who always liked to stay busy. Over the years, Fred was a charter member of the Knights of Columbus. Fred was also in a Bowling League and was a true Redskins Fan. He was an umpire for the Vienna Little League during the time his children played baseball. Fred also obtained his Realtor License. Later in life he was a team player of the Northern Virginia Senior SoftBall Team (Royal Blue team). Fred volunteered at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department Sunday night bingo games and served as treasurer for the Volunteer Association.
After retirement, Fred enjoyed taking road trips which included Washington D.C., Maryland and Atlantic City to try his hand at the gambling tables. Fred enjoyed his life to the fullest. He was a true family man and loved life.
Family life was always very busy due to his four children. He was extremely proud of his children and always expressed his joy for every trophy and later his children’s career accomplishments. He later also enjoyed his 7 grandchildren and was proud of them as well.
After losing his wife, Mary, of 49 years to cancer, Fred married Dawn Tanner several years later. Fred and Dawn enjoyed many travels and lots of family fun. Fred enjoyed Dawn’s 3 sons and 2 daughters, their children and grandchildren as his own.
We will all miss Fred tremendously. His humor, laughter and great wit always brought the room alive. He had an infectious joy that he was happy to share with all. We were all better for having known him and will forever be grateful that the good Lord allowed him to be not only part of our lives but a wonderful example of how to live a life of integrity, honor, devotion and fun!
Fred was an energetic guy who always liked to stay busy. Over the years, Fred was a charter member of the Knights of Columbus. Fred was also in a Bowling League and was a true Redskins Fan. He was an umpire for the Vienna Little League during the time his children played baseball. Fred also obtained his Realtor License. Later in life he was a team player of the Northern Virginia Senior SoftBall Team (Royal Blue team). Fred volunteered at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department Sunday night bingo games and served as treasurer for the Volunteer Association.
After retirement, Fred enjoyed taking road trips which included Washington D.C., Maryland and Atlantic City to try his hand at the gambling tables. Fred enjoyed his life to the fullest. He was a true family man and loved life.
Family life was always very busy due to his four children. He was extremely proud of his children and always expressed his joy for every trophy and later his children’s career accomplishments. He later also enjoyed his 7 grandchildren and was proud of them as well.
After losing his wife, Mary, of 49 years to cancer, Fred married Dawn Tanner several years later. Fred and Dawn enjoyed many travels and lots of family fun. Fred enjoyed Dawn’s 3 sons and 2 daughters, their children and grandchildren as his own.
We will all miss Fred tremendously. His humor, laughter and great wit always brought the room alive. He had an infectious joy that he was happy to share with all. We were all better for having known him and will forever be grateful that the good Lord allowed him to be not only part of our lives but a wonderful example of how to live a life of integrity, honor, devotion and fun!
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Here’s grandpa reading me (Bailey Scimeca) a book. I loved when he read to me. Another one of my favorite memories were the family dinners that we used to have at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. My mom, dad and I would go up to Northern VA and we would spend time with my dads family. Grandpa cooked some really good pasta and sauce and all the adults would all have a good laugh and talks and the children would play around grandpa’s house or outside in the yard. I know grandpa is in heaven and he gets to see grandma (Mary Scimeca) again. Although we would prefer grandpa to be down here on earth, God needed him home so he took him. I will miss him dearly. Love you Grandpa. Hope your having a great time in Heaven.❤️
On behalf of all the members of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department and its Auxiliary, you have our deepest sympathy. Fred served our Department honorably and I’d also like to thank his family for his service.
What a great beach house! One of my favorite memories with Fred, Mary and all of us. We had so much fun. Fred always had a big smile on his face. I’ll miss you so so much my father-in-law and second father. Until we meet again in heaven – I love you and will miss you dearly.
“What Fred Taught Me”. My father in law, Fred Scimeca, was a man who was larger than life. He was the OG Italian-American male that many movies and TV shows have tried to capture, although they have never been portrayed as realistically as the “Real Deal,” the man that I was lucky enough to know for 40 years. It would be impossible to share all of the things that Fred taught me over the years, but here are just a few: !)”It’s okay to banter about politics, and still walk away loving each other”: –Fred, from the moment he met my young, more idealistic self, loved to make outrageous statements about how woman were inferior to men. He knew, and I knew, that neither one of us believed a word that he was saying, but we both loved the banter, as he threw lobs at me, that I returned with my faux outrage. 2) “Even if a man is a little thick around the middle, he can still rock a pair of stretchy shorty-short sweatpants, coming and going, if he’s got the dark, strong, Italian legs to back it up.” –No explanation needed 3) “Work hard, and take your Union allowed breaks!” –Fred came to our out-of-state houses for many, many summers, spending weeks with us, to help us do any house improvement projects that we had lined up for him. He offered endless labor, valuable knowledge, and tireless enthusiasm for repairs and improvements on our homes. Now that I am the age that Fred was when he visited, I am even more impressed that he was able and willing to do that.. And we learned that to keep up the pace, we had to take our breaks, without fail! Fred made sure of that. To this day, when Joseph and I tackle a project together, we both look at each other at a certain point, and say “Four o’clock, work day is DONE!” 4) “Every project needs a good supervisor.” –Grandpa loved to sit in a chair and watch my painting expertise. I might have rolled my eyes a lot, but he was always right, as I corrected my errant brush strokes. 5) “Anything is possible, if there is a good meal at the end of it.” –His meatballs were legendary. My kids crave them and make them, from his recipe. 6) “All food is delicious, except for kidneys and snails.” –I agree 7) “Family is everything” —Every day of my life, I believe this one more and more. Fred showed pure unadulterated love and joy towards his grandchildren. He always gave me a “God bless,” when I told him anything about my children’s latest news. I grew to seek out and treasure those little blessings. He taught his son, my husband, how to be a wonderful husband and father himself. This is just a little sampling of how blessed I have been to know Fred. May he rest in peace. Love, your devoted daughter-in-law, Diana
So sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences to family and friends.
I have many fond childhood memories hanging out at the Scimeca household. I can hear Fred’s friendly booming voice! Even though it’s been quite a few years since I saw Fred, I feel a big loss. My condolences to the family
I was deeply saddened to hear of Fred’s passing. My most sincere condolences to his children Joe, Craig, Tony and Terri and their children, as well as Dawn and her children. I have many found memories of visiting the Scimeca’s home when I was growing up because they always made me feel welcome. It was a busy home and there was always something going on. To me, Fred was larger than life. He was always involved with his family and always very positive. His laughter resonates with me to this day. He was a loving father and grandfather, a patriot who served his country, a good neighbor who served his community as well as his church. In short, Fred was a remarkable man who lived life to the fullest and I for one will always miss his presence. A life well lived….
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