Frederick R. Strobel

Strobel, Frederick (Fred) Richard of Quincy, recently of St. Louis Park, MN (moved from Florida in 2014), passed away December 22, 2016. He will be sorely missed, but he leaves his family with optimism, humor, and grace. Fred was born on August 21, 1937 in Quincy of Francis Joseph Strobel of Boston, and Emily Anne (Picard) Strobel of Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada.

Fred is survived by daughters Heidi (of Evansville, Indiana, husband Paul Bone, children Wyatt and Genevieve) and Gretchen Strobel (St. Louis Park, Minnesota). Gretchen worked very hard to maintain his quality of life and independence in his last years. Fred was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Gib Strobel of South Weymouth. He is survived by his sister, Anne Marie (Strobel) Ciarfella of Quincy, and her children Susan Ciarfella, Trisha (Rick) Keefe and Paul (Kate) Ciarfella. Other survivors include nephews Michael (Andrea) and Jeffery (Beth) Strobel and niece Lisa (Frank) Monti. Fred is also survived by his former wife, Marilyn (Cooke) Strobel of Billerica.

He will be missed by his Minnesota friends Daniel, George, Bob, Ron, and Patty. Fred was graced by fantastic and loving caregivers Katie, Catrina, Roselidah, Allexa, and Becki, as well as the staff at Jones-Harrison, especially Leno, Pamela, and Will. Monumental thanks to Deb H at Fairview who personally scheduled his loving caregivers.

Fred graduated from North Quincy High School in 1955 and graduated from Northeastern University with B.S. in Accounting in 1960 and an MBA in 1962. He served in the U.S. Army Finance Corps, leaving in 1964 as a 1st Lieutenant after two years of service. He earned an MA in Economics in 1967 en route to a Ph.D. in Economics from Clark University in 1969.   

Fred taught at Clark University and Holy Cross College between 1967-70, moving to Atlanta in 1970 to work at the Federal Reserve Bank. From 1974-1994, he taught economics at Kalamazoo College, holding the Stephen B. Monroe Chair of Money and Banking. Fred moved to Sarasota, Florida in 1994 to teach at New College-University of South Florida, where he held the William G. and Marie Selby Chair of Economics until 2008 

Throughout his life, he remained concerned with economic justice. He predicted much of the economic struggles of the working class in this country in his two books Upward Dreams, Downward Mobility: The Economic Decline of the American Middle Class (1993) and The Coming Class War and How to Avoid It (1999).

Memorials may be made to the donor’s choice or Kalamazoo College Fund at www.kzoo.edu/onlinegiving 

Services will be held privately.