Obituary of Fred Wiley

Fred E. Wiley, 94, passed away on December 17, 2010. He was preceded in death by his son, Jack Philip Wiley. Fred was born in Chicago on April 28, 1916 to Fred and Louise Wiley. He saved money for college by working as a bell hop at the Eastgate Hotel in Chicago, and as a page with the Northern Trust bank, before attending Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. While at Wittenberg, he was a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, the college swim team, president of the student government, the Blue Key Honor Society and graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 1940. He began his career in sales and manufacturing with General Electric. He enlisted in the U.S. Army for a year of service and then was commissioned as an officer serving in both the European and Pacific theatres during W.W.II, 1941-1946. Following the war, he married Phyllis Ewan from Elmhurst, IL, in 1947 and started his career with McGraw Edison Co. in Chicago. He began in sales and became president of Toastmaster Division, commercial and domestic food equipment, in 1962. He and Phyllis retired to Tucson in 1977, and Fred began a 30 year volunteer career with devoted service to many organizations and schools. He assisted individuals in the Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Blake Foundation (formerly Cerebral Palsy Foundation), Big Brothers, and helped establish the Sickroom Loan Chest for medical equipment. He enjoyed his service to school children in Tucson with tutoring and reading to students at Richie, Mesa Verde, Copper Creek and Sunrise Drive Elementary Schools. In addition to his wife, Phyllis, Fred is survived by Bruce F. Wiley ( Miryam, children Katherine and Andrea) of Wellesley, MA; and Kay D. Wiley ( Stephen McManus, children Alicia and James) of Tucson. Fred was passionate about helping school aged children and requested that memorial contributions be made to Imago Dei Middle School, P.O., Box 3506, Tucson, 85702.