Fred Calica Sr., 81, Aberdeen resident, died Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash. Fred was born on Dec. 26, 1935, in Denver, Colo. to Raymond and Maria (Abeyta) Calica. His family moved to Aberdeen in 1942 where he attended Stevens School and Weatherwax High.
Fred started working in the lumber mills in the 1940s, back when there were about 125 mills up and down the banks of the Chehalis River. The first mill he ever worked at was the Liberty Mill, and from there he went on to work at many of the local mills such as EK Bishop, an all pine mill where he fished for Sturgeon during his lunch break. Fred then moved his family from Grays Harbor and headed to Montana where he worked at the Denver Houle Ranch; then the Rail Road before deciding the cold winters and little pay weren’t for him. So, back to Aberdeen he went with family in tow where he resumed working in the local mills. The Saginaw and EC Miller Shake Mills to start with, working on the Boom, Head Rig and Double Cut. Then in 1953, Fred started working for the Weyerhaeuser Lumber mill. He worked many positions in the Planer and Sawmill from Sweeper to Forklift and Carrier Operator then drove a Chip Truck while his children were growing up. Fred finished his 40-year career as the Day Shift Sorter Bull Driver with numerous Certificates for Extraordinary Service and Commitment from Weyerhaeuser.
Fred was the Ultimate Outdoors Man; he loved to hunt and fish. Throughout the years he had mastered not only shooting a riffle, but pistols, black-powder, bowhunting, making his own arrows and fishing which included running the rivers in his boat to making his own Flies for Fly-Fishing. Fred was also a very talented Artist dating back to his high school years, selling his first painting to more recent years selling his art as a member of the Grays Harbors Art Guild. Fred loved teaching his family and friends how to hunt and fish, leaving a family legacy that now stretches over Five Generations and is still growing.
Fred is survived by five sons: Greg and Pat Shields, Jeff Calica, Fred Calica Jr., Randy and Terri Calica, Darryl Calica; four daughters: Mary and Rich Malone, Sue and Jeff Miller, Jennifer and Robert Goodman, Lynn and Bryn Johansen; two sisters: Rubie Cebular and Rita Hill; a brother Raymond and Celle Calica Jr.; a brother-in-law, Charles Mudgett Sr.; over 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. Fred was preceded in death by his parents Ray S. and Mary Calica, his daughter Laura Calica, brother-in-law Jerry Cebular, wife Jenny Calica, and sister Rose Mudgett.
There will be a time of visitation on Friday, Oct. 6, from 1-8 p.m. at Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 11 a.m. in the chapel at Fern Hill Funeral Home. Burial to follow at Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen. There will be a reception in the Dorothy Mann Reception Room in Fern Hill Funeral Home following the services.
A message of condolence or of a memory can be sent to the family at www.fernhillfuneral.com.
Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Wash.
