Fred Emmet Switzer

    Fred Emmet Switzer passed away peacefully in his home where he resided for 56 years surrounded by his four daughters and many loved ones.  He was born on April 17, 1922 to Maude and Emmet Switzer in the small town of Fromberg, Montana.  In June of 1930, Fred and his family moved to San Diego, California and in 1931, they headed north to Berkeley, California where his father purchased a drug store.  Fred graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in October of 1943 and obtained his California State Board of Pharmacy license in March of 1945  During his college years he met the love of his life, Shirley Ida Martin, who became his wife on September 17, 1944.  During their engagement, Fred attended US Navy Reserve Midshipmen's School at the University of Notre Dame.   In May of 1944, Fred was appointed ensign and was ordered to San Diego for indoctrination aboard S boats.   Following their wedding,  Fred and Shirley moved to New London, Connecticut where Fred received further training in subschool and was part of the Medical Research Department at the submarine base.  During his service, he was eventually promoted to lieutenant, junior grade (LTJG). Following the war, Fred and Shirley lived in Berkeley where Fred became partners with his father at Switzer's Pharmacy.  In April of 1952, Fred and his father, Emmet, became equal partners in the business.  Following Emmet's death that same year, Fred continued to run the pharmacy.   In 1955, Fred sold the pharmacy in order to join his brothers, Joe and Bob Switzer, in Cleveland, Ohio to work for Switzer Brothers (eventually DayGlo Color Corporation).  In the fall of of that same year, Fred moved with his wife and three daughters, Linda, Judy, and Shelley, to Lyndhurst, Ohio where they lived for four years.  In 1959, Fred and his family headed west for the purpose of expanding DayGlo to the west coast and a small branch plant was opened in El Monte, California.  Fred and his family settled in Fullerton, California in the fall of 1960 where his fourth daughter, Janet, was born.  Fred served as vice-president and eventually president of DayGlo until his retirement in 1986. During his retirement years, Fred remained very active playing golf, hiking, vacationing with his wife and family, and preserving family history and memories.  He spent many hours converting his slides to digital images, creating a 3 1/2 hour documentary titled Documentary of the Lives of Maude Etta Slocum and Emmet Bert Switzer", and organizing all his photos into albums including family photos dating back to the mid-1880s.  He also enjoyed serving on the board of The Switzer Foundation, an organization founded in 1986 by his brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Patricia Switzer.  He often spoke about the foundation and how proud he was to be involved in an organization that focused on bringing about positive environmental change.  Fred is survived by his four daughters:  Linda Clopton (Bill), Judy Summers (Larry), Shelley Campbell, and Janet Sanders (David) and his eleven grandchildren: Tammy Anderson (Ross), Jeff Summers (Michele), Brandi Wallin (Marc), Michael Summers (Andrea), Jason Clopton (Andrea), Damian Clopton (Ashley),  Brian Campbell, Laura Campbell, Shirley Wallims (Dan), John Sanders (Shawna), and Daniel Sanders, numerous great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by the love of his life, Shirley, in December of 2015.  Fred's kindness, warmth, genuine interest in others, interesting and engaging conversations and stories, sense of humor, smile, and love for family and friends will be missed by all who knew him.  A memorial and celebration of life will be held at McAulay and Wallace Mortuary in Fullerton in May, and Redwood Memorial Gardens during the summer.   Contributions in Fred's memory may be made to three of his favorite organizations:  The Switzer Foundation, The Sierra Fund, and Habitat for Humanity.