Frederick W. Oettinger

Frederick W. Oettinger of Knox, New York died peacefully at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center in Guilderland, N.Y. on June 30th 2017. Fred was born in the small town of Valley Cottage, N.Y. in 1925 and was the son of Frederick and Theresa Oettinger. Fred had 2 sisters Marilyn and Phyllis. Fred is survived by his wife Helen, his three children: Fred C. Oettinger and his wife Lisa of Penobscot, Maine, Kate and Robert Hahn of Gallupville, NY, James K. Oettinger of Oakdale CT. Five Grandchildren: Fred Oettinger and his wife Rachel of Salem, New Hampshire, Nick Oettinger and his wife Brittany of Winterport, Maine, Keenen Hahn and and his wife Kirstie (Lee) of Knox, NY, and Ben Oettinger and Brian Oettinger and their mother Gail Oettinger of Oakdale, CT, and one great grandchild Chase Oettinger of Winterport, Maine. Fred graduated Nyack High School and joined the U.S. Navy immediately after graduation in 1943. While in the Navy, Fred received training in Naval and Aviation Sciences at the Universities of South Carolina and Georgia. After completing two and one half years of military duty, Fred enrolled at the NYS College of Forestry at Syracuse. Here he studied General Forestry and in 1949 he received his Bachelor of Science degree and a year later his Masters in Forestry. Fred met his wife Helen of 68 years in Syracuse and married her in 1948. He started in 1950 his forestry career in Norwich, New York as a junior Forester and a year later transferred to Poughkeepsie where he was promoted to Forester. In 1962 Fred moved to Albany where he assumed the role of Senior Forester and gained experience in the areas of statewide forest products marketing and utilization. A year later he was appointed Superintendent of Forest Fire Control where he was responsible for all forest fire related activity in the State. He also served as National Secretary for the Forestry Conservation Communication Association. In 1970 Fred was promoted to Chief Forester with the Bureau of State and Private Forestry. His program areas included statewide private and state forest management, correction and youth camps, forest tree improvement and forest tree nursery operations. In 1974 Fred accepted the position of Assistant Director of EnCon Field Services with the Division of Field Services then two years later a move to the division of Administrative Analysis and Computer Services to work as Chief of the Administrative Analysis Unit. He ended his career with the Division of Land Resources and Forest Management to assume the role of Associate Director from which he retired. Fred's strong interest in effective management and a strong sense of leadership was called upon by the Executive Office to assume lead roles in many major Department projects. Just as Fred's professional life has always been extremely busy and productive, his personal life has been equally active. Fred loved living in Knox and had served a total of 33 years as a Volunteer Fireman, 23 years of which was devoted to the Knox Fire Company. Here he had held the offices of President, Chief and Fire Commissioner. Other activities include President of the Knox Historical Society, and involvement in various committees for town government projects. He enjoyed being part of the community and enjoyed having his kids grow up in such a wonderful rural environment. He planned and helped build a house in Knox for their retirement years and there with Helen ran Cloud Nine Tree Farm for 27 years. He loved the Adirondacks and Cape Cod throughout his long life and added when they retired, a place in Florida. He and Helen enjoyed traveling throughout the country and especially enjoyed driving to Alaska. Family will have a celebration of life at a later date. Thank You to everyone who helped our family through this hard time. Your generosity of friendship and kind words was deeply appreciated.