[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         TRIBUTE TO FATHER FRED

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2000

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I and many, many residents of northern 
Michigan continue to mourn the passing of the Rev. Edwin Frederick, our 
beloved Father Fred, who affected so many lives by the simple act of 
tending and caring for those in need.
  It may be misleading, Mr. Speaker, to describe Father Fred's work as 
simple. The simple act of sharing is to offer a hungry man half one's 
loaf of bread. The simple act of caring is to put one's own coat over 
the shoulders of a child shivering with a cold.
  Father Fred went much further than that. The foundation he created 
has provided food, clothing and other basic necessities to literally 
thousands of families. The Father Fred Foundation now distributes more 
than a million dollars in aid each year to individuals and families in 
the Traverse City area. It is, at its heart, the story of the loaves 
and fishes, a miracle being worked by our Savior through this simple 
man of the cloth who was willing to ride on the back of Harley Davidson 
motorcycles and oversee garage sales to build this sustaining fund.
  I was fortunate, Mr. Speaker, to have been one of Father Fred's 
instruments in his performance of good works. I looked forward each 
year to assisting him in serving Thanksgiving dinner to those in need. 
In this most basic act of charity, helping to provide sustenance to 
another human, I learned that most basic of Christian lessons, learning 
to love a stranger.
  My heart was heavy this year at Thanksgiving, because as I left I 
knew I would never again see Father Fred alive. His smile was as wide 
as ever, but the cancer that was killing him had left this once 
powerful man very frail. Father Fred died in January at the age of 74.
  We in Congress have an opportunity to meet many stately, strong, 
wise, and wonderful people. But in those quiet moments when I can 
reflect on the individuals who have really had an impact on my view of 
the world and my feelings for my fellow man, it is Father Fred who 
marches at the forefront of that long procession of men and women whose 
lives have at one time or another intersected with mine.
  He will continue to live among us in the foundation he created, and 
in the special place in our hearts and memories that he created.

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