Fred Vincent Blazine

Fred Blazine, 83, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away on Wednesday, December 18, at Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital in Round Rock after a short illness. He leaves behind his wife, Maria, of 55 years. Fred and Maria were married June 27, 1964 in Topeka, Kansas while he was serving at Forbes Air Force Base.

He was predeceased in death by his parents Vincent Anthony Blazine and Regene Blazine of Carterville,IL. His survivors include a sister, Regene Shand, and husband, Howard Shand; a daughter, Lori Barnes, and husband Larry Barnes, their daughter Marybeth; and a son Bruce Blazine, and wife Kristi, their children Kayla, Grace, Austin, and Taylor.

He was born June 30, 1936 in Chicago, IL, to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Blazine. He spent his formative years in Herrin, IL, graduating from Herrin High School before attending the University of Illinois in Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1959. He went on to earn a Masters of Arts from Central Michigan University in 1975. Finally, he earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Dayton in 1980.

Fred received his commission as an Officer in the United States Air Force in 1959 and attended Navigator and Electronics Warfare training. In 1960-61 he participated in the Bay of Pigs flying on the RB-47 and was presented the Air Medal. Fred flew about 100 missions over Vietnam in the RB-66 and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. After Vietnam, he was station at Wright Patterson AFB where he also flew in the B-52 as an Electronic Warfare officer. Later while at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium in 1980-83, his duties in the communications branch earned his Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Spending most his 24 years in the Air Force in research and development for electronic warfare systems, Fred earned several additional service accommodations, including the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Accommodation Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

After retiring from the Air Force, Fred worked for Lockheed-Martin in Austin, TX, in research and development for 15 years. He served as a project manager and later authored many proposals. He retired from Lockheed-Martin in 1997.

Enjoying life to its fullest, Fred pursued many hobbies, but his passion was golf which allowed him to win many trophies. His second passion was singing, especially choruses like Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s The Messiah & Dixit Dominus, Mozart’s Requiem, Lidnti’s Ester, and pieces by Beethoven. He sang in the choir at Great Hills and Austin Baptist Churches as well as with Chorus Austin. He was an accomplished Trumpet player as well as a gifted vocalist in his church choir. If he wasn’t on the golf course or singing, he and Maria were traveling around the world. They made 40 trips in over 19 years.

Although he had been a Christian most of his life, he rededicated his life in the 1970’s to a closer walk with Christ. From that time forward he led his family to worship Christ and served the Lord with a humble spirit. Throughout his life his family and friends knew him for his never-ending sense of humor and his approach to making others laugh.

His memorial service will be at 11:00am on January 18, 2020 at Austin Baptist Church, where he and Maria have been members since 2010. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Austin Baptist Church general fund, Hospice Austin, or Silverado Hospice. The family would like to thank the staff at Heart Hospital of Austin and especially the staff at Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital in Round Rock, TX.