In the early hours of September 12th,  Frederic "Fred" Straight transcended from this earthly life to his next Big Adventure. Born in Manila, the Philippines in 1941,  infant Fred was so eager to see what all the fuss was about that he entered the world quite early. Despite a premature birth in the midst of the Japanese occupation, little 'Preddy' managed to thrive. Defying the doctors' grim predictions, he proved to be an incredibly intelligent child, gifted in both language and art.  He spoke very fondly of his adventurous childhood in Manila. Amidst the hardships of war, he enjoyed a carefree upbringing in the company his 8 siblings, loving parents, extended family, and the whole wild world to explore. 

At age 16, he made the long journey to his Uncle Harold and Aunt Sally Straight's home in San Luis Obispo to attend school. He then joined the Army at age 18,  and was soon off to bootcamp.  He trained as a sharpshooter, a paratrooper, and demonstrated an uncanny ability to learn languages quickly. He was sent to the prestigious Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, CA to learn French, very much enjoying the following assignment in Paris. While back in the US, in the Los Angeles area, a beautiful and shy young woman caught his eye. Fred married Cristina Gladys Molina in September of 1969, with baby boy Freddie Jr. to follow in 1970.  

Already fluent in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and French he again was sent to study at the DLI, this time to learn Mandarin. With these impressive language skills, he was recruited to train at the US Army Intelligence Center of Excellence in Ft. Huachuca, AZ.  Baby girl Mennelle soon joined the family in 1975, and 8 weeks later they were off to beautiful Hawaii, the first of their many exciting assignments as a family.

From Hawaii, they were assigned to California, once again enjoying being close to Fred's large extended family. This did not last long, however, and they were soon packing up to move across the world to Seoul,  S. Korea. By now Fred had transitioned from active duty to Federal employee life.  As a civilian personnel specialist, he worked in the military equivalent of HR.  The first foreign assignment as a family, Korea prove to be quite the cultural change for his young children and their mother. They managed just fine, and grew to appreciate the beauty of the culture and kindness of the people - and Fred was a particular fan of the food!  While in Korea, they were able to take some wonderful trips to The Philippines. Warmly hosted by extended family, the wild jitney rides, pristine beaches, and epic feasts made for priceless family memories.

Three years later, they were assigned to a tiny base in Germany. Europe proved to be another big cultural change, but Cristina fit right in with the orderly German lifestyle; enjoying the incredible cuisine, fresh markets, and ease of transportation. The assignment was only for one year, and they were soon packing up to head across the border to South Limburg, The Netherlands. 

Taking full advantage of their central location, they travelled to idyllic storybook locations in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain, France, and Switzerland. The kids studied French and German, while Fred, ever the linguist, casually picked up enough of German, Dutch, and Italian to converse. They made some of the dearest friends of their lives there, who still are considered part of the family. 

Freddie Jr, travel in his blood and raring to see more of the world, joined the Navy at age 18 and was off to write his own epic story. In the summer of 1989 Fred, Cristina, and Mennelle moved back to the States, this time to Huntsville, Alabama - perhaps the biggest culture shock of all! While Mennelle awkwardly adapted to life in the US and high school, Fred enjoyed an assignment at the famous Redstone Arsenal.  

A few short years later, they once again said teary goodbyes to their best friends in Alabama and headed to stunning but chilly Newport, Rhode Island. During Mennelle's senior year, Fred was given an assignment in another state. Not wanting to disrupt her final year, he took instead retirement at age 51 from his Department of Defense job, remaining in the Army Reserves. Mennelle headed off to college in Florida,  where Fred and Cristina had plans to move. 

Fred and Cris headed all the way south to Key West, and then back north to Tallahasse, taking various civilian gigs before throwing in the towel on retirement and taking a Department of Defense job in Dallas, and then San Antonio TX. He got a job offer in lovely San Diego and they were once again in California near family. This was short-lived, however, as a job offer in beautiful Sasebo, Japan presented itself. They could not pass this up and headed back to Asia, enjoying a 2nd assignment in Iwakuni - a favorite for both of them. From here they headed to the tropical island of Guam. 

They loved Guam, with its fun-loving culture and delicious food, but they were downsizing the base, so they soon found themselves once again in Ft Huachuca, AZ. Sick of the desert heat, they took a new assignment in eastern Oregon and found themselves, ironically, in the Oregon desert heat! Fred retired for the 2nd time. That did not last long, and 6 months later they moved to Sudden Valley, WA and the Birch Bay Village. While they really enjoyed that area, and by now had grandsons Nick, Christopher, and Ben in the picture, Fred received an exciting job offer in Germany. Happy to be back in Europe, they moved to the Bavarian region. 

After that, Fred retired for the THIRD time, choosing Washington State in 2011 as the final stop after giving Arizona and Florida a whirl (hard pass on both, says Cris) They settled in the Birch Bay/Blaine area, even buying their first house!  Finally sort of settled, Fred enjoyed hanging out with fellow veterans, eating out, and drinking lattes at Woods Coffee. Cristina loved being on the coast and the mildly cool weather. In spite of this, neither really felt they were done with their travels, and spoke often of moving to Spain as retirees. 

In 2015 Fred had a stroke. While he did recover from the stroke, this began a gradual decline in his health, which he largely kept private. Diagnosed with diabetes and heart failure, he still maintained his ability to travel, and made it to the last Straight Family Reunion in 2019. He made a few trips to visit Freddie Jr and Mennelle, and his grandkids Nick, Christopher, and Ben. He loved hosting the grandkids for visits, and was happily down for any adventure, so long as it ended in an Asian meal! 

In 2022, his family started noticing some cognitive decline and other troubling signs of serious health issues. Being stubbornly against any kind of fuss, attention, hospital admittance, or anything else that may impede his freedom - Fred insisted he was fine and discreetly sought minimal care for some of his ailments. He was definitely not fine, but his ability to downplay symptoms and increasing confusion made it difficult to intervene. In May of 2023,  he finally made it to the GI clinic for his first ever colonoscopy, which revealed what the family had feared - he had very advanced colorectal cancer. By the time his diagnosis was confirmed, he had lost a critical amount of weight and was unable to absorb nutrients effectively. Due to his weakened condition, surgery/chemo was never an option. The family managed, with somewhat of a fight,  to get him admitted to the hospital in early June. At this point he was quite ill with a blood infection, dehydration, and some delirium. He was stabilized in the hospital, and once made comfortable, was able to think clearly enough to make critical decisions regarding end of life. 

He was treated with a round of palliative radiation, and began hospice care. He was moved to the Stafholt Rehab center, in the hopes that he would be able to participate in the PT and OT. He tried, but after about 2 weeks opted to just rest and focus on his peace of mind. Throughout the weeks, he denied any pain or discomfort, and thoroughly enjoyed his meals. In particular, he appreciated anytime someone brought him a decaf soy latte, ice cream, or pork adobo. A lover of music, he seemed to enjoy getting lost in the classical music we kept playing for him. Phone calls and typing was difficult for him, but he was still able to read the many texts his family sent.

Cris, Freddie Jr, Mennelle, Nick, Ben, as well as some close family friends were able to visit him at Stafholt. He enjoyed scrolling through photos on our phones and getting updates on the goings on of his teenaged grandsons' busy young lives. He also received regular visits from the wonderful Whatcom hospice team, who even arranged a military honor 'pinning' service at his bedside. At that point he was unable to verbalize in English, but he could tell this was a special honor acknowledging his many years of service, something he was very proud of. 

Forever a scholar, he devoured books, maps and magazines with a voracious appetite throughout his life. In his final months, he drew comfort and wisdom from the depths of those learnings, particularly his many years of Buddhist practice. Starting in the hospital, his worn copy ofOld Path, White Clouds - filled with his notes in the margins -  was always within reach. He kept a dharma wheel necklace in his hands or around his neck. 

At Stafholt, he spent a lot of time looking at a large print of a tropical island that was sent to him by Ben and Nick's father, Joe.  The last few years, all he talked about was moving to a tropical US territory like Saipan. Sick of the chilly PNW weather and longing to return to his native climate, it was his final daydream. When he was still able to communicate well, he told us stories about that island in the picture. As words became increasingly difficult for him to find, and then all together out of reach, he kept his gaze trained on the serene tropical island vision in a silent meditative state.  Without a doubt, he was stepping from this world into the warm waters of that white sand beach, feeling the mingle of the sun's heat with the cool breeze and the stinging salt spray upon his face. Feeling not the end coming, but that surge of life that comes with the start of a new adventure. 

 “This body is not me; I am not caught in this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died. Over there the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies All manifests from the basis of consciousness. Since beginningless time I have always been free. Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out. Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek. So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye. Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before. We shall always be meeting again at the true source, Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life

Fred "Lolo" leaves in this life his wife of 54 years, Cris, his son Freddie Jr. and grandson Christopher, his daughter Mennelle, grandsons Nick and Ben, and their father Joe. He is also survived by his siblings, Joseph Jr,  Maryanne, Jane, Frank, Mary Louise, Christian, and Marilyn. He is preceded in death by his parents Joseph and "Nita" Straight, as well as his older brother, David. 

Cris, Mennelle and Freddie would like to extend a special thanks to those family and friends who helped make the incredible difficulties of long-distance support a little easier to manage. We are forever grateful. 

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