Fred was born September 30, 1937 in Portland, Maine to Roland and Georgia (Jordan) Fickett and grew up in Berlin, New Hampshire. He spent much of his youth working for the White Mountain National Forest and at the Mt. Washington weather observatory. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BS in Physics, received his MS in plasma physics at the University of Arizona, and his PhD in solid state physics from Oregon State University. He moved to Boulder in 1967 as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology).
Fred was a research scientist at NIST with many achievements in the areas of magnetics and cryogenics and he later served as Division Chief of the Materials Reliability Division and the Magnetic Technology Division. He was honored with the Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award, was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a NIST Distinguished Scientist. Fred retired from NIST in 2003 much to the dismay of many of his employees.
Fred loved the outdoors and was an avid hiker/walker, biker, camper, and skier. He also loved poetry, had memorized many poems, and had two lines for every occasion. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was always fun to be around.
Fred and family spent many years visiting national parks and exploring the back country of Utah long before Utah camping became civilized. They also enjoyed spending time in Leadville, Colorado, taking advantage of the history and beauty of the area. They shared many great outdoors stories, most of which were true.
He is survived by his wife, Delma Oberbeck, and two sons, Richard Fickett and Brooks Fickett. He will be greatly missed by his family and by his many wonderful friends.
Fred did not want a funerall service. Instead a celebration of Fred’s life will be held Friday, October 12 from 5-8 p.m. at Crist Mortuary, 3395 Penrose Place, Boulder. If you can attend, please drop a note to [email protected]. Memorial donations may be made to TRU Community Care, the hospice that provided care and support through this difficult time.
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