Frederick Prange

Frederick William Prange, 70, passed away at home on Sunday, July 9, 2023. Fred was born on March 16, 1953, in St. Louis, MO, and graduated from Hazelwood High School in 1972, where he played football and was an avid wrestler. He took classes with Michele at Florissant Valley Community College, then attended the University of Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, receiving a bachelor's degree in Geology. Fred and Michele had a beautiful wedding in 1975 and enjoyed the life they built together.

Fred worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in Missouri until they moved to Ketchikan, Alaska in 1981 where he worked for the Forest Service. There he bought a small skiff and took his family on so many adventures, catching halibut and crab, seeing wildlife up close, and visiting remote Forest Service cabins by sea and air. After another year of school in Colorado, Fred moved his family back to Alaska and spent another 10 years taking them camping and boating in the wilderness. In 1998, he transferred with the Forest Service to Billings, Montana where he built a new home, and painstakingly turned a dry and dusty acre of land littered with concrete chunks into a lush green acre filled with trees.

Fred was in the midst of enjoying his retirement: maintaining the beautiful landscape, hiking, and picnics with Michele, traveling to Alaska to visit his kids and grandkids, and working in his garage. He worked hard to restore Michele's 1964 CJ5, it was running, and the bodywork was completed; they even took it for a few laps around the neighborhood.

He was a voracious reader and passed his love of reading to Jennifer, enjoyed trains, had an interesting collection of coins, and had a love for all things rocks, gemstones, and minerals that he inherited from his dad, and no one could match the extensive amount of tools he amassed in his garage. If he wasn't in the yard he was in the garage, often with Nathan and Connor where they worked on repairing, rebuilding, or just improving their trucks. He never lost his love for Alaska, had traveled the Al-Can Highway more than was reasonable, and was looking forward to doing it again to work in the garage with his sons later this year.

Fred enjoyed being in the kitchen, and his family will miss the care packages with homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter Rice Crispies treats that he sent across the country. Whether it was for animals or people, Fred had a very giving heart and was always willing to share with those in need, take in an animal or teenager, or share his wealth of knowledge. He unknowingly taught those around him strong lessons about humanity. He was happy to have recently spent time with a lot of extended family and enjoyed seeing them all.

Fred is survived by his wife, Michele; his daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Chris Manculich; his son and daughter-in-law Nathan and Ashley Prange; his son Connor Prange; his granddaughter and her partner, Aubrey Manculich and Carl Gatter; his grandson and his wife Wyatt and Saibra Manculich; along with his siblings and their spouses: Barbra and Rick Huddleston, Louis Prange, Marilyn and Roger Sylwester, Robert and Cathy Prange, and Elise Durham.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mildred and Robert Prange, as well as his six Irish Setters: Corky, Kerry, Bozo, Dublin, Quinn, and Strider, as well as an adopted iguana, Carlos.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at the family home on Saturday, July 15 at 2:00 pm. Fred's ashes will be scattered in Alaska as he requested.