John Silver Frerichs

John Silver Frerichs was born January 18, 1927, in Lincoln, Nebraska to Edward and Elsie Frerichs. John passed away at the age of 99 on April 30, 2026. He is survived by his daughter, Stacey Frerichs, and son, Edward Frerichs, grandson, Eric Hoss, and nephews and nieces.

Growing up in Lincoln, he spent time with activities through his church and Boy Scouts. He achieved the Eagle award in 1943. During summers, he helped with digging fossils with a University of Nebraska crew, ushered at the local theater, teaching swimming & running the Boy Scout camp. He graduated from Lincoln High School in January 1944, was a member of the National Honor Society, and one of three commencement speakers. He attended University of Nebraska for a year before enlisting in the United States Navy in January 1945.

His first year in the Navy was as a Seaman First Class, but he received an appointment to attend the Naval Academy in 1946, so off he went to Annapolis, Maryland. He was on the fencing team while there and became a company commander during his senior year.

Graduation was in June 1950, and by July he was stationed aboard the USS Rochester and participated in five major operations in the Korean War. During a return to the states, he and Shirley Stocker were married on March 17, 1951. He was also aboard the experimental destroyer, USS Timmerman, for 2 years before being assigned to the USS Lucid as prospective Executive Officer in 1955.

Resigning from the Navy in 1956, he worked at Burroughs and North American Aviation in Engineering before taking a position at Code-A-Phone in Oregon in 1966. He held several managerial and professional positions with other companies until retiring from Tektronix in 1993.

While living in Oregon, he participated in his local churches as Deacon and an Elder, as a Pioneer District Commissioner, and with Portland chapter of American Society of Quality. He taught classes at Portland State University, Portland Community College, and City University, and completed his MBA at Portland State in 1975. He was appointed by the mayor in 1989 to be on the Beaverton Library Advisory Board, which helped establish the plans for the current building location and establishment of the Beaverton Library Foundation. Additionally, he spent over 20 years as a volunteer at Library.

Recreational activities included fishing, but especially fly-fishing. He and Shirley even took lessons to tie their own flies. They also made multiple trips to the Deschutes & Metolius Rivers and traveled in the United States and overseas.

His sense of humor would sometimes catch you by surprise, but it was always worth a good laugh. His humor was present up to the very end of his life. The wisdom he gained from his life and business experiences was dependable and always available, and many people relied on his advice. Hands down, the most common description people would use to describe him was, “He was a gentleman.”

A Memorial Service will also be held at Pegg Paxson & Springer Funeral Chapel, 4675 SW Watson Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97005, US, on June 7, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of the Beaverton Library, 12470 SW 5th St, Beaverton, Oregon 97005, US (friendsofthebcl.org), or to Stockton Maritime Museum, 4290 Cherokee Rd, Stockton, California 95215, US (stocktonhistoricalmaritimemuseum.org).