Frederick John Jewell

Frederick John Jewell, 78, born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 9, 1943, passed away quickly and peacefully on February 22, 2022, in San Diego, CA, of complications of Lewy Body Dementia. Fred lived most of his life in the Chicago area with stints in Oregon, Nevada, Florida, and California.

Fred was born in South Chicago during World War II to Frederick Dyer Jewell and Alice Stella (Janus) Jewell. He was the first born in his family and the first grandchild on his mother’s side as well. When he was born, his father was a soldier in the U.S. Army. His family lived with his maternal grandparents and his aunts. His grandfather was a Polish immigrant who was a barber and they all lived above the barbershop. He grew up in this house surrounded by extended family, especially when his mom was away for treatments, having contracted tuberculosis from one of her sisters who later passed away. 

In many ways, based on the stories he told, it is very surprising Fred managed to stay alive through high school. South Chicago was a community in flux after WWII and Fred was right in the middle of it. One of his favorite stories was when, as a kid, he went with his dad to one of his card games. While there, he accidentally broke one of the ping pong balls. He feared he wouldn't make it out of the place alive since all of the men playing cards with his dad were packing heat. He also told stories of falling off of a roof (breaking his arm) and scuffles with people of different backgrounds. Fred’s biggest accomplishment, however, was in high school when he met Kathleen "Kathy" Mary Kelly at a high school dance in October 1959. Meeting her changed his life.

Fred graduated from Mendel High School in 1961. He almost lost his life when he was in a horrible automobile accident in 1962. The accident caused him to be declared 4F for the Army since his vision was impaired for 6 months and his face had extensive scarring and muscle damage. In 1963, after Kathy helped nurse Fred back to health, he was smart enough to ask her to marry him and they were wed on June 13, 1964. Due to not wanting to work in the steel mills like so many of his peers, Fred attended Loyola University’s night school program for 8 years while working during the day. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in 1970. In addition to work and school, Fred must have wanted to make sure Kathy was just as busy so they had 3 kids: Frederick W. (1965), Andrew A. (1967), and Jennifer K. (1970).  

Although Fred always talked about how he was not smart, because he didn’t get high grades in school, his social intelligence was incredible. The man could easily influence the conversation in any room he was in at any time and most of the people would not mind. He was engaging and charming to the majority of the people he met throughout his life. Fred got a foothold into data processing at the beginning of that field hitting corporate America. Over the years, he learned that he was able to talk to the people doing the computer/technical work as well as the people who needed it done. He discovered that being the bridge between these two groups could be a lucrative career. He worked at Standard Oil, International Harvester, ADP, and McDonald’s over a span of 28 years, ending his career as a Supply Chain Management Director in the corporate offices of McDonald’s. Although computers were the backbone to his career, he hated them and thought that smartphones (handheld computers) ruined the art of conversation. 

Fred and Kathy (later Kate) enjoyed 23 wonderful years of marriage before she died of breast cancer in 1988. They raised their three kids in the Chicago suburbs and two of them even had a couple of years in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. Fred and Kate enjoyed friends, dancing, and their kids’ activities. Fred even coached their boys baseball and basketball teams when they were young. He supported their artistic interests as well as all three of them played instruments in school and recreational bands and two of them enjoyed high school theater.

After retiring in 1998, Fred spent much of the next 18 years traveling around the country visiting family and friends. For the first six years, he had a homebase in Florida with very good friends for the winter and traveled the country the rest of the year. He usually spent extended amounts of time with his kids giving him the chance to spend quality time with his seven grandchildren as they grew up. He rented an apartment in Las Vegas for about 2.5 years starting in late 2004 but decided it was not a great place to live. However, he met a special lady, Mary, at a Catholic Singles Group while there. She ended up traveling with him starting in 2006 and stayed with him often in the condo he bought in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in 2009. His last big traveling trip was in 2016 and some odd occurrences happened during that trip. In 2018, after some alarming behaviors were observed from near and afar, Fred and Mary were both moved to San Diego, California, to live near Jennifer. As it turns out, they had both begun suffering from two different dementias with Mary having Alzheimer’s and Fred having Lewy Body Dementia. With Jennifer’s assistance, they managed to live together at an independent senior living community for two years before being moved into memory care when their diseases progressed. Although it may seem like Fred—who was so full of life—died too young, the Lewy Body Dementia caused him great anxiety, hallucinations, delusions, exhaustion, and confusion most of the time so his quick and peaceful passing (most likely from a blood clot that reached his lungs) was a blessing.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick D. Jewell and Alice S. Jewell; and, his wife, Kathleen K. Jewell. He is survived by his brother, Allan (Nola) Jewell, his sons, Frederick W. (Julie) Jewell and Andrew A. (Kelley) Jewell; his daughter, Jennifer (John) Demaree; and his seven grandchildren: Andrew M., Maddie, Max, Rose, Lucas (Maddy), Jonathan, and Joanna. He also left behind Mary, who is now living in a new memory care community in Flagstaff, near her son. 

There will be a celebration of life on Memorial Day Weekend in the Chicago area. More details will be posted here on the memorial website for Fred (https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/FrederickJewell/). The family requests that you also share memories of Fred here and please post pictures of him having fun throughout his life.

If you wish to make a donation in Fred’s memory, please make one to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) at http://www.lbda.org or 912 Killian Hill, S. W., Lilburn, GA 30047.