Frederick Wallace Quam

Funeral Service: https://vimeo.com/event/4949120

Tribute Video: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/ND7YKZDY4TKWS58J

Frederick W. Quam, the “oldest man in North Dakota”, was born on 10/2/1916 in Fargo, North Dakota to Walter and Bess (Anderson) Quam. He attended Roosevelt Elementary school and graduated from Fargo Central High School.

During his early years he spent summers at his grandparents’ farm and worked at several of his uncles’ farms, learning many skills that served him well in later life. His ambition was to be a farmer but that never happened. After working in a neighborhood grocery store and Armour & Co., he enlisted in the AirForce in 1941. He received his basic training and aircraft mechanics at Shepard Field, Texas and at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California. Most of his time was spent with the 48th Bomb Group at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was honorably discharged in 1943.

In January 1947 he joined the North Dakota Air National Guard (the “Happy Hooligans”) as an aircraft mechanic. He was recalled for the Korean Conflict in 1951 and served for 21 months in Georgia and California assigned to the Inspector Generals Office. He returned to the North Dakota Air National Guard, serving as Quality Control Supervisor until his retirement with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant in October 1976.

On September 11, 1944, he married the love of his life, Lois Partenheimer who he met during his service in Oklahoma City. They were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead while he was on furlough in Fargo. They built a home in north Fargo where they raised their family. They enjoyed weekends and holidays at their cottage on Pickeral Lake. In 1981 they purchased a home on Pickeral Lake and enjoyed living there for several years. Fred kept busy with fishing, yard work, entertaining family and friends and going to auctions.

Fred was a lifelong volunteer for many different places. His favorites were the Emergency Food Pantry and the Fargo Air Museum where he started a library that was named in his honor in 2002. He was a charter member of the Air National Guard and the Fargo Golden K Kiwanis; a life member of the American Legion, El Zagal Shrine and the Arab Patrol; and member of the Masonic Daylight Lodge and York Rite. He was named Federal Civil Servant of the year in 1958, received a Community Service Award for the 119th Fighter Group in 1959 and was man of the year for the North Dakota State Mental Health Association in 1974.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Bess Quam; his wife of fifty-eight years, Lois Quam; his five brothers, John, Donald, Wilbur, Richard, and Robert and his sister, Patricia; and his daughter, Jane Quam Warren. He is survived by his daughter, Jean Quam (Bonnie Dudovitz), Minneapolis, Minnesota; his granddaughter, Emily Warren (Andrew Vogel), Baltimore, Maryland; his granddaughter, Pastor Katy Warren (Allison Sanyi), Davenport, Iowa; grandsons, Jaime Dudovitz, Minneapolis; Sam Dudovitz, Nashville, Tennessee; and four great grandchildren, Tavin Dudovitz, Ezekiel Dudovitz, Micah Sanyi, and Mia Jane Sanyi.

Fred was very proud of his children and grandchildren and their accomplishments and loved to talk about them. He never met a stranger and always had a good word for anyone who wanted to visit. He had a curiosity about the world and a deep faith in God.

Memorials are preferred to the Fargo Air Museum and First Lutheran Church Foundation. We thank all the staff at St. Catherine’s North who provided him with loving care for over eight years.