Fred was an absolutely wonderful person from the beginning of his life to the end of his life. That is probably why Rae married him in the first place and created such a caring, loving family. We, the family, Love Pops and wanted to take this opportunity to share his life with you.
Fred was born on February 23, 1922, in Toronto, Canada.
His mother died when he was born, so he was raised by his grandparents.
At the age of 17, Fred came to the United States and lived in Burbank. His father owned property in Burbank.
He went to work for Ralph’s Grocery Store.
Fred then enlisted into the United States Army in 1940 at the age of 18.
During that time, Fred received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his participation in World War II.
Upon honorable discharge from the army, he went back to work for Ralph’s as a warehouseman. That is when Fred met Rae. She was a cashier at Ralph’s. Oftentimes when Rae was not cashiering, she was needed to stock the shelves with cookies and crackers. She would ride the elevator up to where the cookies and crackers were kept in the warehouse. Fred used to hop on that elevator with Rae and kiss her while they were riding up to get the items to stock the shelves. What a love story.
They were married on May 5, 1946 at Holy Family Church in Glendale. Their first son, Greg, was born in 1947.
In 1951, Fred and Rae bought their house in Burbank for $11,500.00. Pops was worried about making that whopping $47.00 mortgage every month. 1951 also brought the birth of their second son, David.
In 1953, the baby of the family, Freddy was born. Freddy has followed in his father’s footsteps his entire life. Fred was always very proud of his sons. He and Rae raised them right. They continue to be good men to this day, all living by the Banks’ high standards of living life with dignity and doing the right thing. Fred and Rae are also blessed with 2 grandsons: Matthew and Parker, and 2 daughters-in-law: Caryn and Norma.
Fred worked for Ralph’s for 42 years. He retired in 1984 at the age of 62. Just imagine how much money Fred has collected over the years from Social Security. He was able to take full advantage of our federal government. And rightfully so. Fred worked all his life in an honest job, paid his taxes, served his country, and provided for his family.
We all aspire to be like Fred.
As anyone who knew anything about Fred, he had a passion for trains. Everything trains: Metrolink, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Western Pacific, The Gold Line, The Red Line, The Blue Line, from Filmore to Santa Paula. You name it and Fred knew everything there was to know about it. We drove to Santa Barbara so that Fred and his grandson, Parker, could ride back to Burbank on the train. We rode the Gold Line, The Red Line, and watched trains run through the Tahachapi Loop. Here a train, there a train, everywhere a train, train. Fred spent a lot of his free time building trains, setting up tracks, and collecting priceless trains, pins, and other train memorabilia. As Rae puts it so well, “We were up to our neck in trains.”
We will not say goodbye to Fred. We will say, “Bravo on a life well lived.”
He had an extraordinary life. We are a solid family because of his love for us and his continuous support in all we do.
Fred was a jewel. He was caring and loving to all of us.
In the lives of the family, nobody will ever compare to Fredrick Banks.
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