Frederick John Schmidt III

Fred was born on April 25 th 1949, in Oakland, New Jersey where he grew up on a farm in Fairfield (previously known as Caldwell) Township with his Father (Fred), Mother (Marion), and older sister Sue. In 1959 the family moved to Florida. Shortly after his Father passed away (1961), his mother, sister, and he moved into a home in St. Petersburg.

Fred graduated from Northeast High School in 1967. He loved woodworking and playing guitar playing with a few friends in a small band in high school. Shortly after graduation, he was drafted. He enlisted in the United States Navy in December 1968 in Monterey, California. He attended the initial bootcamp and schooling in San Diego, then attended Firemen School in San Francisco until his transfer to the Naval base in Florida, where he served on the USS Observation Island.

He married his first wife, Arlene Kessner, in 1970. They were married for 18 years and had one daughter (Susan). He also served on the USS Proteus (a submarine tender) as a fireman and Pipe Lagger, where he was honorably discharged in August of 1971 after completing his four-year service term.

After being discharged from the Navy, Fred worked briefly in a shipyard in St. Petersburg, Florida. Shortly after, he realized he wanted to have the flexibility and freedom of running his own business and started doing more carpentry and flooring installation. He created F & N Flooring, which stood for “Fred and Nobody”. This would become his life's work, creating many long-lasting friendships and endless stories. He will always be known as the “Wood Floor” guy.

In 1991 he reconnected with his first love, Joan, who resided in California with her daughter Heather and son Ian.The three of them moved to Florida, where Fred and Joan were married for 7 years. They split up after, but reconnected again, where they remarried in 2015 until his passing in 2026.

He loved being outdoors and enjoyed boating and fishing. He lived most of his life in Clearwater, Florida and loved having a second home in Franklin, North Carolina, where he could visit his daughter Sue, son-in-law Joe, and his granddaughter Jenna in Apex, NC. In 2018, he decided he wanted to spend more time in North Carolina and eventually moved to Apex to live with his daughter and her family.

He passed away in that home, surrounded by the dogs he loved, the voice of his wife on the phone, and in a setting that he created with hard work and love. He is now breathing easy and probably working on a project again. He loved watching golf, racing, movies, shows, and anything music-related. He also loved dogs, and dogs loved him, no matter where he encountered them.

Fred was preceded in death by his Father, Frederick John Schmidt II, Mother, Marion (Ackerman) Schmidt, first wife, Arlene Schmidt, and step daughter Heather Sabatino.

He is survived by his wife Joan Schmidt, older sister Sue Sabre, daughter Sue Ganshaw, son-in-law Joe Ganshaw, and granddaughter Jenna Ganshaw.

Information concerning the burial service (to be held at the North Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, NC will be communicated at a future date, but is tentatively estimated for mid-May.

In place of flowers, please consider donating in his honor to Saving Grace Animals for Adoption, Wake Forest, NC, or SPCA of Tampa Bay.