Manfred (Fred) Baumann, 86, of Portland, Oregon, passed away on Friday, January 31, 2020 after a long illness. Fred will be most remembered for his big, charming, genuine smile, his gifts for listening and sage advice and his graciousness. Fred was born on May 30, 1933 in Burgalben, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany to Ernst and Katarina Baumann. He played soccer and sang in the local choir club with his childhood buddies and lifelong best friends.
Fred emigrated to the United States in 1955 to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. He
learned English and enlisted in the US Air Force. His dream of becoming a pilot was not to be,
but he eventually studied Accounting on the GI Bill and graduated from Hofstra University, first
with a bachelor’s degree, and later, with a Masters of Business Administration. After
discharging from the US Air Force, Fred started his career as an accountant with Oxford (later
Esselte) Pendaflex, an office supplies company in Garden City, New York. Fred would make his
career with the company, progressing from entry level staff accountant to company Controller
and then Treasurer over a 38-year tenure.
Upon arriving in the United States, Fred met Helga Matheis, also from the Rhineland Palatinate.
They married on December 26, 1959 in Wantagh, New York. Fred and Helga settled in
Smithtown, New York. Their home was full of music, particularly classical and with a special
love of the Romantic composers. Fred and Helga were avid gardeners, transforming their
steep backyard into a terraced garden with a waterfall feature over several years of hard work. A constant stream of visitors from Germany enjoyed summers in Fred’s beautiful backyard.
Fred and Helga’s daughters Patricia and Carol were born in Smithtown. Fred was the most
caring and supportive of fathers. He was especially enthusiastic in supporting his daughters’
education, modeling good study habits himself, joining the local school board, and eventually
regularly making the long drives back and forth to out-of-state universities.
Upon their daughters’ relocation to Portland, Fred and Helga purchased a condo in the
Bethany area of Portland. In retirement, Fred and Helga took up golf, also purchased a condo
in Pelican Sound, Estero, Florida and enjoyed 15 years of actively participating in golf
community life. For half the year, they made their way back to Portland, where they were
integral to the lives of their grandsons, Lucas and Henry. They went everywhere with their
grandsons: Cannon Beach, Larch Mountain, Bauman’s Farm Harvest Festival, Bullwinkle’s
mini golf, Sunset bowling, to name a few favorite places. Fred was a regular on the sidelines
for every soccer, basketball and hockey game his grandsons played.
When not working or gardening or, later, golfing, Fred and Helga traveled. Fred loved going
places and was the driving force behind all of the family vacations. They traveled back to
Germany frequently - annually once retired - and all over Europe, the USA, Canada, the
Caribbean and Costa Rica.
With Fred’s Parkinson’s Disease advancing, Fred and Helga eventually sold both their homes
and in 2019, moved to the beautiful community of Touchmark in the West Hills. Fred was
blessed to celebrate his 60th wedding anniversary with Helga there before passing away.
Fred is survived by his wife, Helga, and daughters Patricia Nimelman (Andrew) and Carol
Baumann (Kevin) and grandsons, Lucas and Henry, as well as his sister Medea Stösser of
Germany and brother Bernd Baumann (Hannelore) of Germany. Fred will be committed at
Willamette National Cemetery on February 12th. There will be a memorial service at
Touchmark in the West Hills, 850 SW Touchmark Way, Portland on February 16th at 11 am.
The family requests donations to Parkinson’s Foundation in lieu of flowers.
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