FRED W. SASS, 62

Former Blair resident Fred W. Sass, 62, of Birmingham, Ala., died Feb. 9, 2004, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Funeral services were Feb. 12 at Ridout’s Valley Chapel. Interment was in Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Birmingham.

Fred W. Sass graduated from Blair High School in 1959, and served in the United States Navy from 1960 to 1968. In 1969, he was a member of the Federal Electric Corporation team which worked with the National Aeuronautics and Space Administration toward the success of the Apollo 11 Mission Launch at the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

He was employed at Liberty National Life Insurance Co. in Birmingham in their telecommunications department from 1974 until the time of his death.

Mr. Sass was a member of the Philadelphia Baptist Church and was actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America for more than 25 years, serving as a Cubmaster and a Scout Leader of two different troops. He enjoyed hunting and the outdoors and was a member of a local hunting club.

He is survived by his wife, Wanda; three children, Scott, Holly and Shawn; two grandchildren; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Clair and Gwen McKinnis and Lucille Ryan; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a son, Kevin Sass, and his parents, Fred and Beatta Sass.

Memorials are suggested to the Boy Scouts of America.