Fredric's obituary
Fredric Charles Jaye, 83, of Denver, CO, passed away on March 13, 2023.
Fred was born on June 3, 1939 to John and Carolyn Jaye in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After studying chemistry at Marquette University, he served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and received a purple heart. While in the Air Force and stationed at Cape Canaveral, he worked at NASA and helped design the rocket fuel that sent our astronauts to the moon in the 1960's. In the 1970's, he helped design the first emission controls for power plants for the EPA and then went on to design control systems that ran large manufacturing plants until he retired in 2003. In November 1970, he met Nathelyn (Nathie) Westerfield and it was love at first sight. They wed four months later in April 1971. Sharon came along 11 months later, and Michelle arrive 20 months after that. His family meant more to him than anything else in the world, something he often mentioned. He was unendingly proud of Nathie, Sharon, and Michelle and always tried his best to give them enriching experiences and loved traveling around the United States and abroad. Fred was passionate about scouting, nature, planes, trains, and automobiles, which he passed his love of to his children and grandson Jim. In his retirement years, he spent many hours volunteering at the Western North Carolina Nature Center (WNCNC) and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). Anyone who knew Fred knew that he was the most loving father and husband a family could ask for. Fred was predeceased by his wife Nathie, his sister Patricia, his brother Tom, and parents John and Carolyn. He is survived by his daughters Sharon and Michelle, his grandson Jim, his new great granddaughter Salem, and many much-adored nieces, nephews and other family members. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made to WNCNC (https://wildwnc.org/donate/) or CMA (https://www.cmaquarium.org/) Because Fred's family and friends live all over the US, there will be an online celebration of life where we'll share memories and stories on March 26, 2023 at 3:00pm MT. Please RSVP on this site or message Sharon at drsharonjaye@gmail.com to receive the zoom link.