MOUNT VERNON – Frederick Thomas Baldeschwiler, 76, of Mount Vernon, passed away at home on Dec. 31, 2020, after battling cancer. Susan, his wife of 51 years, was by his side.
Fred was born in Newark on Jan. 2, 1944, to Leo and Phyllis (Sheasby) Baldeschwiler, but was raised in Mount Vernon from early childhood. His first job was as a paperboy for the Mount Vernon News, which he proudly carried all over town. As a teenager, he delivered prescriptions for Foster’s Pharmacy. Fred attended St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School. In 1962, after his father was transferred to New York, Fred completed his senior year and graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, New York. Though he did not officially graduate with them, he was a valued member of the Class of ’62 (alumni of both St. Vincent and Mount Vernon schools), which gathered many times over the years.
In the fall of 1962, Fred enlisted in the United States Navy. Both his basic and specialized training were conducted at Great Lakes Naval Base. After completing hospital corpsman school, he was assigned to St. Alban’s Naval Hospital in Queens, New York, where he remained for his tour of duty. He was honorably discharged in 1966.
Fred used his GI Bill to attend Bronx Community College and received an Associate Degree in Retail Management. While in school, he worked at Yonkers Professional Hospital, where he met his future wife, Susan Wenz. They were married on Nov. 8, 1969, in the Monastery Church of the Sacred Heart in Yonkers.
While Fred’s banking career began at the National Bank of Westchester in Tarrytown, New York; his heart was really in Ohio, so in February of 1972 they moved to Mount Vernon and Fred began a 28-year career at First-Knox National Bank.
Fred was a graduate of the American Institute of Banking and served as its president in 1987. He also held memberships and offices in the Mount Vernon Jaycees, the Kiwanis Club, the Old Homestead Club and the Knights of Columbus. He served for many years as a lector at St. Vincent and was a lifelong blood donor to the American Red Cross. He belonged to both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the local Moose Lodge.
Upon his retirement from First-Knox, Fred held part-time jobs at the New Albany Country Club and Apple Valley golf courses. He served for many years as treasurer for the Knox County Park District. Both he and Susan became active in the Quarry Chapel Restoration Committee (later the Friends of the Quarry Chapel), for which he served as both treasurer and chairperson between 2000 and 2009.
When they settled in Mount Vernon, Fred and Susan became active in the Jaycees, a civic organization that gave them the most profound and longest-lasting friendships of their lives. The generosity of their “retired rooster” friends during the last few months of Fred’s life cannot be understated.
He leaves behind his wife Susan (Wenz) Baldeschwiler; his daughter, Kristin (John Cutcher) of Maumee, Ohio; his son, Andy (Caley Vickerman) of Minneapolis; his sister, Betsy (James) Zeyen of Mount Vernon; his niece, Alissa, and two great nieces of Broadview Heights, Ohio; his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Lisa Wenz of Yonkers, New York; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Wenz of Chicago; nephews, Michael (Laura) and Matthew (Melissa); and a great-nephew and great niece. Fred was expecting his first grandson in early January 2021.
In addition to his parents, Fred was predeceased by his brother, Bill.
A Funeral Mass will be held at a later date, after which Fred will be interred at Quarry Chapel Cemetery in Gambier, Ohio.
Fred’s family would like to express their profound gratitude to Hospice of North Central Ohio. Donations may be made to Hospice of North Central Ohio, Friends of the Quarry Chapel or the American Red Cross in Fred’s name.
To share a memory or send an expression of sympathy to the family, visit www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
The Flowers-Snyder Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Frederick “Fred” Thomas Baldeschwiler.
