Fred Pingel passed away Friday, January 10, 2014 in Lacey, Washington. He was 81.
He was born in August 1932 at the family homestead in Prairieville Township near Sleepy Eye, Brown County, Minnesota. His parents were Frederick E. and Alice V. (Domke) Pingel. In June 1955 he married Doris Dean in Long Beach, California. They settled in the Tri-Cities (Richland and Kennewick, Washington) and in 1971 relocated to Centralia.
Fred was an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church where over the years he was an usher and head usher, served on the building committee, and assisted with counting the offering. A life member of the Centralia-Chehalis Elks Lodge, he earned honors and awards for his participation with the ritual team. He also held a membership to the Chehalis Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose and Centralia Post of the American Legion.
When Fred was 10 years old his family moved from the farm to Minneapolis. After high school graduation in 1949, Fred attended Dunwoody Institute (now Dunwoody College of Technology) in Minneapolis, graduating in December 1951. Then he moved to Richland where he worked at Hanford as an electrical maintenance technician. He served in the US Navy July 1954-July 1956 (Korean War). After he married Doris and his tour was over, they returned to Richland and started their family, then in 1959 moved to Kennewick. In 1971 he accepted an electrical maintenance position at the then-new Centralia Steam Plant. In 1992 he retired and continued to be active in his various organizations as well as enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren and camping and traveling with Doris. Some of his favorite destinations were Pacific City, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; California and Eastern Washington for wine tasting, and Minneapolis and Oklahoma to visit family.
Fred will be remembered as a wonderful man with an incredible sense of logic and great sense of humor. He was an extraordinary husband, brother, father, grandfather, and friend, and his loss will be felt deeply.
Fred was predeceased by his wife Doris in 2008 and son Dan in 2012. He is survived by his sister Audrey Arnell (Don Ezell) of Norman, Oklahoma; daughters Jan Pingel and Judy Holm, daughter-in-law Valerie Pingel , and grandchildren Natalie Holm, David Holm, and Kayla Pingel, all of Olympia, Washington; granddaughter Leah Pingel of Spokane, Washington; niece Nathalie Arnell (Jim Roberson) of Norman, Oklahoma; nephew Brian Arnell (Kathy) of Minneapolis; and several cousins.
The memorial service will be held at 1:00 Saturday, January 25, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1209 Scheuber Rd in Centralia.
Donations may be made in his memory to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1209 N Scheuber Rd, Centralia, WA 98531, or the Tall Elks, c/o Centralia-Chehalis Elks Lodge, PO Box 358, Centralia, WA 98531.
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