Frederick "Fred" Radville, 84
April 2, 2011
ROCKPORT — Frederick "Fred" Radville, 84, of Rockport, died Saturday, April
2, 2011, after a long and full life.
He leaves his wife of 60 years, Dorothy (Weafer) Radville; and four
children, Diane Wemyss of Rockport, Charles of Mattapoisett, Richard of
Reading, and Mark of West Newbury. He was the brother of the late Robert
Radville of Belmont, and the son of Vincent I. Radville and Selma (Gutoski)
Radville of Belmont. He also leaves eight grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
A chemical engineer, Fred entered MIT in 1942 at the age of 16. After two
years of study, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, training in Chicago as a
radioman, then serving in Corpus Christi, Texas. He returned to MIT and
graduated in 1948.
Fred's working career was spent at Eastman Kodak's Eastman Gelatin plant in
Peabody. Starting there as a summer lab assistant while in college, he
returned upon graduation from MIT in 1948, and quickly rose to the position
of plant superintendent, a position from which he retired in 1980, after 32
years with Kodak.
He was an avid outoorsman, enjoying ice fishing and surfcasting as well as
hunting, with his children and his good friend, the late Walter Tkaczuk of
Peabody. Fred also learned to sail, on the Charles River basin while at MIT,
and continued to sail while a longtime member of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in
Rockport, after his retirement there.
Fred's greatest pleasure was swimming. While in the Navy in Corpus Christi,
he was tapped as a swimming instructor for new recruits, a skill he later
used for all four of his children. In the 1960s, he became a longtime member
of the L Street Brownies in South Boston, where he swam almost every day of
the year. In January 1981, at the age of 64, he participated in the
Harborplace swim in Baltimore, and prized his champion's trophy.
After retirement, he was regularly seen at Rockport and Gloucester beaches,
where he swam daily, year round, no matter the weather. In his retirement,
Fred also became an enthusiastic motorcyclist, traveling all over Cape Ann
and New England.
ARRANGEMENTS: His funeral service will be held in the Burgess & Mackey
Funeral Home, 201 Main St., Rockport, on Tuesday, April 5, at 11 a.m. Family
and friends are cordially invited to attend. Visiting hours will precede the
funeral service on Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. The burial will be held in
Calvary Cemetery. For online condolences, please visit
greelyfuneralhome.com.
