Fred Hennig

April 23, 1941 – April 7, 2014

Born in Hoppen, Germany, he was the last of four children to Ferdinand and Hedwig Hennig.  Fleeing a war-torn country, his family fled East Germany in 1947, ultimately immigrating to the United States in 1955 and settling in Caldwell, Idaho. In 1957 he moved to Paramount, CA, where he lived with his sister, Ella Linder, and graduated from Downey High School in 1958.

Drafted into the Army, he served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an Administrative Specialist. Upon his discharge, he worked briefly as a machinist for General Motors and would eventually work as a Ship Scheduler at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, where he retired after 35 years.

He met his wife, Vickie, through mutual friends.  He would tell the couple (many times), "You need to find me a nice Greek girl to marry." They met at Easter, and would be married for 46 years. He was the loving father of Anastacia "Stacie" and a grandfather of two boys, Stamatis (age 6) and Elias (age 5).  His grandchildren were the light of his life.  Stacie affectionately referred to him as the "secret spoiler" as every week he would have a new "project" for his grandsons; whether it be legos, puzzles, or wood models.  He loved doing projects with them, and used them to teach virtues of patience and determination.

He was very involved in our beloved church, Panagia.  He worked the festival for over 35 years, beginning in the Gyro booth, and settling in Loukoumathes. He was the other half of the amazing Loukoumathes team and perfected the cooking process.  He would later pass his knowledge, and patience for perfection, to his son-in-law Stelios Zoumberakis. "I like a little line." he would say, "It tells people there's something worth standing in line for."

He was Vickie's "right hand man," always running around buying ingredients, supplies, chopping walnuts, doing anything Vickie needed for the prosfora, the memorials, the tsourekia, the sweets, etc, etc.

He will be remembered for his quiet, yet strong presence in the family; when he spoke, everyone would listen.  He joked around a lot and was affectionately known as the "favorite Theo," who always had a 7/7 in hand with his cigarette. He never said a bad thing about anyone and never got involved in the drama of life. His joy and comfort was his home and his garden. Every weekend he was outside gardening and tending to his flower beds, orchids, and plumeria trees.  His home was immaculate, there was never anything broken, cracked, and nothing squeaked. His patience and his need for perfection were shown throughout.

Trisagion will be held on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 7:00p.m. Funeral service will be held on Friday, April 11, 2014 at 10:00a.m. both to be held at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church,  5761 E. Colorado Street, Long Beach, CA 90804.  Military honors will follow the service at the church.  Following the mercy meal, it is requested that all close family and friends attend the graveside service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress.

He will be deeply missed.  May his memory be eternal.