Fredrick W. Martinson passed away peacefully on September 26, 2010 at the age of 86. Fred was born in Des Moines Iowa and was the only child of Fred and Laura Martinson. He spent much of his life in Des Moines where he attended public schools and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1942. He entered Iowa State College (now known as Iowa State University) in the Electrical Engineering program and became part of the ROTC program. In 1943 Fred was drafted into the 406th Regiment of the 102nd Infantry Division also known as "The Ozarks" who landed in Cherbourg, France in 1944. In December of 1944 he was reported missing in action when in fact he and some buddies had found a farm house and were sleeping in real beds after sleeping in fox holes for so long. They overslept and were left behind by their regiment. Fred received the Bronze star when he and few other members of his squad captured a machine gun nest during an attempted ambush in eastern Germany. During that same year Fred received the Purple Heart for an injury he received while sticking his head out of a fox hole, he was very fortunate in the fact that the bullet glanced off his helmet knocking him out and only leaving a crease in the middle of his forehead. After returning home from WWII Fred re-entered Iowa College and completed his degree in Electrical Engineering. In May of 1950 he married Jean Ferguson and they started working on building their family. They had one daughter, Pam, in 1952 followed by Sandi in 1955. A short time after Sandi was born Fred and Jean moved to Portland Oregon where Fred went to work for Pacific Power and Light Company. The couple had a son Rick in 1957 and another daughter Carole in 1960. In 1968 Fred became a partner in an engineering firm, Marquis Engineering, in Eugene Oregon and moved the family to Creswell where he tried to become a farmer after living his whole life in the city. Fred was very involved in different organizations during his lifetime including the BPOE, the Masons and Scottish-Rite. He also became very involved with his church by becoming a lay reader and usher. We will miss him and wish him peace in his next life.