Fredrick Claude Vandervort

Fred Vandervort, 75, passed away peacefully on Nov. 3, 2015, surrounded by family and friends at Fountain View Village Skilled Nursing Center after a brief battle with liver cancer. He follows his childhood sweetheart and wife, Carolyn Jean Manning, who died in 2008.

He is survived by his beloved children, Jill and David; grandson, John, his great-grandson, Gio, as well as his sister, Marianne Wiggishoff; brother Bill, and good friend Nancy Schneider of Tucson.

Fred had a zest for life, loved people, and spent every Saturday during football season cheering on his favorite Ohio State Buckeyes. He was part of a close-knit group of friends from Mariemont High School (Ohio) who keep in touch even to this day.

Fred enjoyed travel, trying new restaurants, and playing an occasional round of golf. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 22, 1940, to Monie and Mil Vandervort, Fred worked in the beer business in Massachusetts and upstate New York before relocating his family to Arizona and opening his first Fastsigns franchise in Mesa. He will be missed.

The family wishes to thank the kind staff at Fountain View Village and Hospice of the Valley for their care and support. In lieu of flowers, donations to Hospice of the Valley would be appreciated. A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at a later date.