Freddy Wayne Shrader

It is with broken hearts and great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Husband, Son, Dad, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, Freddy Wayne Shrader at the age of 79. He was surrounded by his beautiful wife Sherry of 50 years, his two sons Allie and Colton and his daughter Stephanie in his final moments. His three beautiful grandchildren Greysen Wolf, Benjamin Royal and Isla moon got to give grandpa big hugs and kisses in his last days here. He fought like a warrior for us until his last breath. In his last moments he left this earth singing us a beautiful song and made sure to hold on until his youngest son Colton raced to his side. We are so proud of you Hubby/Dad. You are our hero and we are so sorry for what happened to you.

Freddy met his beautiful wife of 50 years Sherry at a band mates house one evening in 1976. Sherry was there visiting family. Freddy always said he loved her from the moment he saw her. He invited her to see his band play and after his gig they had their first date. He then picked Sherry up and she road on the back of his 900 Kawasaki motorcycle through the pouring rain. He took her to see Bob Dylan’s rolling thunder tour. The first song that Bob Dylan played was A Rain’s A-Gonna Fall. While both of them was soaking wet from the ride, the sun peaked through the clouds and dried them off. They had a magical time together and fell even more in love that night. But sadly Sherry was leaving Denver to Indiana a few days later. Freddy decided he couldn’t be without her. A week or two went by and he wrote Sherry a poem called the knight and the dragon. He then drove across the country from Denver to Indiana to profess his love for her and give her his poem. She went with him to Denver and they got their first apartment together in green mountain. Freddy proposed to Sherry and they were married just a couple months later. They were married for 50 beautiful years!

Freddy Wayne Shrader was our music man, a magical guitar picker and an exceptional song writer. He was a rock and roll lead guitarist and a performer. His music has touched so many hearts and lives in a way that stays with you for a lifetime. He was Vietnam veteran, who served in both the navy and army. He was so proud to have fought for his beautiful country. He believed in family values. He was a classic old school family man. He was a Harley rider and a builder of muscle cars. He was a race car driver. He loved being under the hood of a car. He was a fisherman and a lover of travel. He had his own style. He was so handsome in his cowboy hat, suspenders, leather belt with a buckle and cowboy boots everyday. He smelled like old spice and his beautiful golden hair was slicked back with gorgeous ringlet curls. He was a real cowboy! His career as a safety engineer was something he was so proud of. He kept his crew members safe on jobs across this country. He considered every man and woman in his crew family. He once said that the best part of his career in safety was making sure he could send his crew members and workers home safely to their families everyday.

Personally, Freddy was a protective loving husband and father, a strong leader and a hardworking family man. He had the spirit of a night in shining armor. He was a romantic and a lover of all things classic. He loved watching western movies and classic tv shows. He wrote the most beautiful music. He was an outdoorsman. He loved to sing for us around the campfire. He loved riding horses and fishing. He was a free spirit who shined doing anything in nature. He was an adventurous brave man. His spirit is like no one else. He is a one of a kind man who made it impossible to ever be forgotten. There will never be another Freddy Wayne Shrader.

Our dearest Freddy Wayne Shrader was our John Wayne, our forest gump, our Yosemite Sam, our everything. We know he is with the angels singing his beautiful music, a guitar hanging from his neck and a Coca-Cola in hand. There will never be a day he is not missed by his family. He is part of us and without him a part of us will always be missing. We want to thank you for everything Hubby/Dad. Thank you for always being there in every moment good or bad. You never missed a thing. You were there for all of our sports and our achievements. You cheered for us never leaving the sidelines. You stood here beside us in the hard times to always come to our rescue. You were there to show us this beautiful country from coast to coast. You showed us the beautiful ocean where we learned to surf and swim and searched for treasures in the sand. You showed us Kentucky bluegrass and how to carry a salt shaker in your pocket so you could eat tomatoes right off the vine. We got to camp under the aspens with you and learn to fish from you. We got to live in the most beautiful places with you. You always took care of us and worked so hard every single day. You passed down your musical talent to all of us and the gift of writing. You passed down your love of classic cars. We love sports because of you believing in us and telling us we could do anything. You lead by example. We are just so grateful for you. We wouldn’t change a single moment, the good the bad or the ugly, because we got to share every moment with you. We are so thankful and proud to be your family. While we have to be without you on earth now, we will visit you in the ocean, see you in the eagles, fish with you sitting next to us, we’ll meet you in our dreams, see reminders of you in the clouds, we will feel you in the sunbeams that shines through the honeysuckles and carry on your legacy forever. We love you so much Hubby/Daddy. Rest with the angels now and we’ll meet you in heaven, Brave Heart.

A funeral service will be held at Olinger Highland Mortuary & Cemetery, located at 10201 Grant St, Thornton, CO 80229, on February 24, 2026, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

A committal service will follow at Fort Logan National Cemetery, located at 4400 W Kenyon Ave, Denver, CO 80236, on the same day from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm.