Fred Barnicoat Windover II

Fred Barnicoat Windover II, of Williamstown, a well known longtime resident of Northern Berkshire and Southwestern Vermont, died Friday in Pownal by suicide as a result of bipolar disorder. He was 47.

Born July 13, 1961 in Durham, North Carolina, the son of Fred A. and M. Joan McLelland Windover, he came with his family to Williamstown at the age of seven. He was educated in local schools there, and graduated from Mount Greylock Regional High School. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts.

Blessed with an affable and gregarious personality, he was primarily employed in sales. For several years he was employed by Sprague Products Company in North Adams and in California. Following his tenure with Sprague, he was employed by the Patten Corporation for several years. He subsequently spent several years as a regional veterinary pharmaceutical sales representative with Bayer Corporation, USA. While with Bayer, he resided in West Brookfield and North Brookfield, and moved to Bennington four years ago. Most recently, he was a teacher at Reid Middle School in Pittsfield.

He frequently attended church services at the Second Congregational Church in South Williamstown. He loved people, and cared deeply for their welfare. He served as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

Agriculture was his avocation, and he especially enjoyed raising and caring for livestock. Many of the animals he raised he subsequently gave to neighbors and friends. Beginning as a teenager, he at times took on part time employment on local farms, most recently at Crickett Creek Farm in South Williamstown. An avid outdoorsman, he had a lifelong love of fishing, and he regularly fished small and obscure streams, the existence of which many local anglers were unaware.

He was one of a politically active family, and was named for his paternal grandfather, the late Fred B. Windover of North Adams, who was a long time City Council member there. Following in the elder Windover's footsteps, the younger served as a selectman in the town of North Brookfield for three years.

Besides his parents, of Boston, he leaves a son, Fred C. Windover aged 13, and daughter, Charlotte B.Windover aged 9, and his former wife, Carol Williams Windover, all of Bennington, Vermont; two brothers, Caleb M. Windover of New York City and Tucker H. Windover of Arlington, Massachusetts; a sister, Hannah M. Quinn of Dudley, Massachusetts; his partner, Laurie Connell of Bennington; as well as several nieces and nephews.

FUNERAL NOTICE: The funeral for Fred Windover will be Thursday August 21, 2008 at 11:00AM at the Second Congregational Church in South Williamstown.  Calling hours at FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS WEST CHAPELS, 521 West Main St. North Adams, MA are Wednesday from 4-7 PM.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the South Williamstown Community Association through the funeral home.