William Alonzo Frederick Jr.

William Alonzo Frederick, Jr, age 90, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, passed away January 27th, 2025 after a short illness.

William was predeceased by his wife Geraldine, his parents and his sister Ellen.  He is survived by his daughters Teri and Beth, and his sister Nancy.

William (Bill) was born in the family home on a small farm in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1934, the first of three children.

He began his career in the Air Force as an aviation cadet, and went on to fly as a navigator in KC-97 and KC-135 aircraft before pursuing aeronautical engineering degrees at the University of Florida and the University of Texas.  He continued in the Air Force as an aeronautical engineer at bases in Ohio, Germany and California, retiring in 1978.

While stationed at Homestead AFB in Florida in 1959, he met Geraldine (Gerry) Mercer who lived next door to him.  After a year-long courtship, they wed at MacDill AFB chapel in Tampa.  Their marriage lasted over 64 years. His 20-plus-year military career took him all over the U.S. and Europe. His daughters were born in northern Maine and central Texas. After leaving the Air Force, Bill spent 16 years working for the government contractors Honeywell and AlliantTech, supplying software to the Navy. After his second retirement, Bill and his wife, Gerry, relocated several times and finally settled in Colorado in 2006.  Bill enjoyed fishing, sightseeing, traveling, hiking and RVing.  He also spent many hours restoring home exteriors and landscaping yards in each new place to which they moved.  His lifelong passions were music, poetry and making those around him laugh.       

A committal ceremony will be held at Pikes Peak National Cemetery at 11am on April 1, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests considering a donation to:

National Military Family Association www.militaryfamily.org or Homes For Our Troops www.hfotusa.org