Fred Baumann was the precious son of the late Frederick and Anna (Zahora); devoted husband to Arlene (Buczek); a proud father of Christopher, Jason (Christine), Brian and Freddie (Katie); doting grandfather to Maddie; friend and family member to hundreds more.
Fred was born on the southwest side of Chicago on November 12th, 1947 to his loving parents, Frederick and Anna. After his father tragically died when Fred was 11, Fred and his mother became inseparable. Fred counted his Oprzedek cousins as his true brothers and sisters, but really lived his life for his mother. Since he technically was from a small family, his dream was to have a large family. When he met his one and only true love, Arlene, his dreams came true. Fred married and soon after had four sons in a five-year period.
Fred was a passionate man with simple needs and interests. While content to stay in the shadows himself, Fred loved to see his family in the spotlight. His pride was not in himself, but in his collective family and friend’s accomplishments. He would proudly spout these accomplishments to other family members, friends and absolutely anyone who would listen.
Fred always was a sociable person and saw each new meeting as an opportunity for a lifelong friendship. Whether it was a coworker at Western Electric, the Chicago Tribune or Crain Communications, so many of these work relationships soon became his closest friends.
He coached countless players in softball and soccer for over 10 years so he could spend as much time with his children as possible (even though some of his children themselves were not the most athletically inclined). He became a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster for several years as well. Fred was an avid fan of the Cubs & professional wrestling.
In 2011, Fred was introduced to his granddaughter Maddie, and life was never the same for him. In his head, he was always counting down until the next time he would see her whether it was at her soccer games or just a family visit. Fred was always happiest spending the week at Chalet on the Lake, where he could see not just Maddie every day, but his sons and his entire Chalet family.