Frederick Francis Hight

Frederick Francis Hight Feb.16, 1934 - Sept.10, 2019 receiving of friends and family to be held Sunday, Sept. 15, from 5pm to 7pm. A funeral mass will be held Monday, Sept. 16, 2019 at 11:00am at St. Christopher Catholic church in Speedway with a procession to Crown Hill Cemetary to follow. Frederick Francis Hight, affectionately known to those closest to him as "Fred Racing" took his final checkered flag on (Tues.) September 10, 2019. Fred was the only child of John and Mildred Hight, born in Kokomo, IN on February 16, 1934. As he grew up, the family moved several times and settled in Wabash where he met and fell in love with Beverly Myers, the girl from down the street. Fred was drafted into the Army by mail notification the very day the pair had talked with the priest about their engagement and setting a date. Fred and Bev moved their wedding plans up so they could be married before Fred left for boot camp. He flew to Fort Ord, California for his training and Bev remained behind to finish her nursing degree. Upon completion of boot camp he was then stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. Beverly joined him there on Christmas day 1956. He served in the Army for 2 years.

After returning to the U.S. he worked days and went to night school to become a skilled trade. He got a job at General Motors (Truck & Bus) where he was a machine repairman. Fred and Bev had one son, Greg Hight. After he got a Flathead Ford midget Fred began racing in the early 60's. Bev and his son Greg became his pit crew. The family would travel to nearby racetracks for the weekend most of Greg's childhood. He was USAC car owner for over 30 years. Among his favorite tracks to race were Salem and Winchester. Fred qualified for the "Hut 100" and finished 15th. He raced against drivers such as, Mel Kenyon, Gary Bettenhauseu, Bill Puterbaugh, Johnny Batts and Don Vogler. Fred was as big a fan of racing as anybody, and a member of the Old Timers Racing Club. Whether as a participant or spectator he just loved racing, the comradery and excitement of it all. Although he had many accolades, he also had his share of hard knocks and season ending crashes, along the way. Fred retired form GM in 1985 and turned his focus to restoration projects. By this time Greg had begun a career in Indy car racing and was instrumental in landing Fred on a few teams for the 500. Even if it was just the month of May, they could count on Fred to lend a hand. For a short time while on strike, he was even employed by the speedway as a firefighter. Greg was married in 1995 to his wife Brittanie and they have 2 sons, Davy (20) and Charley (13). Fred was so very proud of both of them.

Fred was a devoted husband and cared for Beverly for a number of years at home. After she'd had several strokes and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. She eventually became a resident at Wellbrooke and Fred befriended several staff member there and continued to visit them after Bev passed in (how fitting) the racing month of May, 2017. Fred had to find a new routine to fill his days. He began having breakfast out most mornings at Charlie Brown's Pancake House in Speedway where he became a beloved regular, then he would go on to Kroger to purchase fresh flowers and drive out to Crown Hill to spend some time with Bev. He only missed this delivery to her a handful of times in the 2 ½ years she's been gone. Fred lived a full and adventurous life and was very blessed. He was thrilled to turn 85 this year and be able to say he had given GM 30 years and he had 30 for himself. On the night he made his final lap in this life, a friend had come to visit him and brought a dozen yellow roses, which were Bev's favorite. Greg had brought him his helmet and drivers suit, and with them at his side, and flowers to bring to Beverly, he crossed the finish line