Fred Leonard Ehrstein

Fred was born September 16, 1929 in Belleville, IL to Frederick M. and Emma (Lebkuecher) Ehrstein.

He married Rosemary Knight in 1967 in Haywards Heath, England. Together, they shared 56 years of marriage. Rosemary survives and resides in Belleville, IL.

Also surviving is their one son, Stephen (Deb) Ehrstein of Kirkwood, MO; granddaughters, Miranda Ehrstein of St. Louis, MO and Helene Ehrstein of Kirkwood, MO; and nephews and nieces, Jonathan (Helen) Knight of East Grinstead, UK; Debbie Knight of Crawley, UK; Mary (Edward) Knobeloch; Susan (Mike) Jakovac; Hal Modro; Michele Peters; Tim Modro; Carol (Tim) Thrall; Fred (Oznur) Modro; and Monica Jinks. He was predeceased by his brother, Thomas, and sister, Jean.

Fred is also survived by his long-time friends, Richard Doyle, Joseph Cunningham, and Kyle Richardson.

After working his way through a degree at Washington University and then deciding law school was not for him, Fred served his country in the United States Army as was the requirement at the time. Among other jobs (he investigated sonic boom reports for the Air Force for a while), he worked for both the Bemis Bag Company and General Electric to fund his fishing, travel, and education before embarking on a full career teaching English, French and German in the Mascoutah School District where he made life-long friends. Fred never lost his desire to learn new things, taking up gardening, wine-making, and several more languages while reading voraciously.

Above all else, Fred loved his wife, Rosemary and his family dearly. He always strove to live up to the strong values he held and embraced his role as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and uncle to the fullest. He will truly be missed by all who knew and loved him.

A memorial time of gathering will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2024 from 10:00 A.M.- 11:00 A.M. at Lake View Funeral Home, Fairview Heights, IL with a memorial service beginning at 11:00 A.M.

The family has entrusted Lake View Funeral Home with cremation rites. Any donations can be made to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.