Frederick Ralph Jr. Andre

To Ralph Andre and Ethel Andre in Mandan, North Dakota and had one younger brother Ernest.

His father was a laborer, who worked for Russell-Miller Milling Co.

Frederick’s father Ralph was in a car accident and passed away when Fred and his younger brother Ernie were young.

Fred then moved to his Grandma and Aunt Ella Funston’s house.

He enjoyed telling the story of when he was about two years old and there was a mean nasty rooster at his aunt and uncle’s house that would chase him around so he tried not to go outside.

Fred and Ernie’s mother caught them digging through and smoking cigarette butts and made a pact with them that if they would stop smoking butts then she would allow them to smoke when they were 14. They agreed and did start smoking at 14.

Fred recalled attending “Apple something “elementary school at about 5 then transferred to “City School” in Bismarck. He went to high school until his sophomore year then took high school equivalency.

He broke horses while living with his Aunt and Uncle Neal as a young teen.

At age 16 he got drunk with some “old fart” that lived in the same house as his grandpa who told him that he would pay for as many tattoos as he was brave enough to get. He got 4. Later he had to get clothes tattooed on them to get into the Navy.

At the age of 17 he convinced his mother to let him join the Navy so that he would be able to choose the branch of service as opposed to being drafted at age 18. He was an Electrician 2nd Class, from 1942 to 1946 on a wooden deck aircraft carrier USS Salamaua based out of Pearl Harbor. It was a CV96 carrier escort vessel.

He and Caroline Kearns were married on June 8th 1948, while he was attending Bismarck Jr. College and she was working in a drug store. Suzette and James were born in North Dakota. Fred completed college at North Dakota State.

During college he rode an Indian motorcycle with side car with his wife and two children.

Upon completion of college in 1951 he packed his 1930 model A (his first car), and moved his family to Portland to work as an electrical engineer for Bonneville Power. They had two more children in Portland, Carolyn and Jerome.

Bonneville Power transferred them to the Barview area on the Oregon coast in about 1954, where they had two more children, Denise and Jeffery.

He married Barbara Yowell, on July 4, 1976, they settled in Gresham Oregon that year.

Fred retired from Bonneville in 1980 at the age of 55. Then he was able to pursue other interests, they especially enjoyed Skiing, Square Dancing, Bowling, and their travels to Canada.

Fred is preceded in death by his wife Barbara, his son James, and his brother Ernie (Mary). He is survived by his children Suzette, Carolyn, Jerome, Denise, and Jeffery (Lynda). He was blessed with 10 grand children and numerous great and great-great grand children.

Arrangements under the direction of Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, Portland, OR.