William "Bill" Alvin Frederick Jr.

William A. Frederick, Jr. of Trent Woods passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, June 11 with his family by his side. He was 80 years old. He was born in Butler, PA to the late William (Sr.) and Margaret Frederick. He graduated from Butler High School. He considered making Eagle Scout the highlight of his young life. He went on to graduate Cum Laude from Youngstown University (Ohio) in the field of transportation. He was immediately recruited by the N.Y. Central Railroad. A year later he joined the Army and served 2 years in the 588th Combat Engineers Battalion in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.

In 1969 he was able to fulfill his childhood dream and started his 36 year career "playing with trains". He was with 8 different railroads. He and his wife Bonnie moved 23 times during his career. While working in Ohio he completed his Masters Degree in Labor Relations and Industrial Management at Akon University. He felt that his biggest professional achievement was starting up and operating 3 new railroads in Arizona, California, and Washington state. He finished his career as President and CEO of Central Kansas Railway in Wichita. In 2002 he and Bonnie retired to New Bern.

Bill was involved with many volunteer commitments which continued until his death. He was the founder and chairman of the Barberton (Ohio) Community Development Corporation and the president of their Chamber of Commerce, both of which he repeated in Parker (Arizona). After settling in New Bern, he was chairman of the New Bern SCORE for 8 years, chairman of New Bern Mum Fest Boat Show, on the board of the New Bern Housing Authority, and treasurer of Transformation Venture Capital (Craven Terrace). The accomplishment that gave him the greatest satisfaction was the 17 years he spent working to rebuild the New Bern Firemen's Museum. It is now a fitting tribute to New Bern Firemen past and present. He finished his work career with family tire of New Bern and was currently president of Convenient Auto Care. He was a longtime member of the Elk's.

Survivors are his wife of 51 years, Bonnie, his sisters Susan Watterson (Rod) of Hampton, NH and Mary Ellen Keener of Butler, PA and numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his niece Jamie.

His funeral mass will be Monday, June 20, 2022 at 11:00 AM at St. Paul Catholic Church on Country Club Road. He will be buried will military honors following the mass at st. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to Craven County Hospice, Craven County Health Depart. Foundation: PO Drawer 12610, New Bern, NC 28561. Donations may also be sent to the Firemen's Museum at 420 Broad Street, New Bern. Cotten Funeral Home is honored to serve the family and friends of William "Bill" Frederick, Jr.