David Ross Frederick

David Ross Frederick of Cary, North Carolina, 68 years of age, passed away on August 25, 2026. He was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania on March 27, 1958 to his parents, Albert and Ruth Frederick. He and his brother, Bob, were raised in Folsom, PA and moved to Roanoke, VA when Dave was in high school.

Dave is preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Ruth Frederick. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Julie Frederick; daughters, Laura and Megan Frederick; and his brother, Robert Frederick.

A Celebration of Life service, followed by a reception will be Monday, August 31, 2026 at 6 pm at Apex Funeral Home 550 W Williams St, Apex, NC 27502.

Flowers are welcome for the service at 550 W Williams St, Apex, NC 27502.

Dave’s wish was to have a bench in his memory placed in Umstead Park which was his favorite place to run with friends. You can contribute to the bench project using the following GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/dc55842ef

Additional memorial contributions may be sent on his behalf to Transitions Life Care at www.transitionslifecare.org/donate.

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Dave was a devoted and loving husband for 39 wonderful years. He and his wife, Julie both attended Syracuse University School of Music and were classmates in Music History class. Julie and their other classmates were always irritated at Dave for throwing off the exam curves with his perfect grades. Dave attended Boston University to earn a Master’s in Music Composition. While in Boston, Dave learned through a mutual SU colleague that Julie was also studying music in Boston. After grad school, he asked her on a date, and the rest is history. While they were dating, Julie recalls inviting him to go for a short run. He arrived in gray sweats on a 70 degree day. Anyone who has gone running with Dave will not be surprised to hear that he only lasted a quarter of a mile before sweating profusely and turning as red as a beet! He didn’t try running again for many years.

Dave’s love for classical music began in the 2nd grade when he started playing the trombone. As a high school student, he played in the regional Roanoke Symphony, was hired for gigs with the traveling circus and Mill Mountain Theater pit orchestra among others, and he even took a gig playing the string bass in a jazz combo, despite having never touched a string bass in his life. He said, “How hard can it be?” After the gig, he overheard the guy in charge say, “I’m never hiring that bass player again.”

When Dave first entered college, he attended a Boston Symphony concert of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, which made a big impression. He’d enjoyed music before, but had never imagined just how beautiful a composition could be. Over the years Dave accumulated a vast knowledge of classical music history. One of his favorite things to do over the years was to collect records. He loved going to Reader’s Corner in Raleigh and thumbing through the 25 cent rack for orchestral and chamber music along with vintage jazz records. With his plentiful collection and high end stereo equipment, he loved to pass time listening to his record collection and sit back and listen, sometimes with a score.

Dave completed a second Master’s degree in Computer Science, which drew him and Julie from Boston, MA to North Carolina. He started working at SAS in 1988, which is known for its generous amenities. During “recess” (a.k.a. lunchtime), he enjoyed various sports, including running. Running became a lifetime hobby of Dave’s. In the process of training to qualify for the Boston Marathon, he became a part of a running group that grew over the decades. This group became his lifelong friends, who he deeply cherished.

He was always there for his daughters, Laura and Megan, throughout the years. When they were young, despite his greatest efforts, he would eventually be excused from his Barbie duties when the girls had a bit too much of the “Boot of Knowledge” (you had to be there). Dave would borrow Megan’s Nintendo GameCube to play with his custom NFL football team, the Fuquay-Varina “Mighty Squids,” whose mascot was a hot pink and lime green dolphin. He was extremely involved in both of his daughter’s extracurricular activities. From coaching sports teams to getting involved in theater, he did it all. Dave was the rock of the family; he would always answer the phone when his daughters called, as long as they were willing to listen to a few of his “Dad jokes.”

Dave and Julie enjoyed many years of traveling. Dave was an expert at planning trips and playing the airline’s flyer miles game to get the best prices on flights. Their trips included hiking, concerts, sightseeing and, of course, the local cuisine. He was known for being adventurous when ordering food in foreign countries. While in Italy, he saw lamb’s head on the menu. When he requested it, the server asked, “Have you ever had lamb's head?” He replied, “No, that’s why I’m ordering it.” He figured if it wasn’t edible, it wouldn’t be on the menu.

Dave planned trekking adventures to iconic places including Mont Blanc, Patagonia, Coast to Coast in the UK, and, last spring, a trek across Sicily. But the trek that he most often talked about was the Camino Portuguese. After he and Julie visited Portugal, Julie had to return to work. Since Dave was retired, he did a 10 day pilgrimage from Porto, Portugal to Santiago, Spain. His adventure included meeting fellow pilgrims and locals along the way. He kept up with a number of them via Instagram, which is such a Dave thing…reaching out to friends to stay in touch.

Dave’s appreciation of music was bookended this past spring, when he planned a trip to Vienna to hear a live performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 for the second time in his life. Of all of their years together, it was the first time Julie saw him cry.

Dave was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in fall 2022. Throughout his journey with the disease, his friends and family have supported and loved him every step of the way.