Fred Wilson Hand Jr.

1929 - 2010

Fred W. Hand, Jr., died Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the age of 81.
Funeral services for Mr. Hand will be held 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at First Presbyterian Church in Bartlesville. Funeral services are under the direction of the Neekamp-Lugenbuel Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemories.com.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, PO Box 4527, New York, NY 10163.
Frederick Wilson Hand, Jr. was born in Long Beach, California, August 26, 1929, to Fredrick Wilson Hand, Sr., and Mildred Margaret Neckelson. He was a seventh generation Californio-those natives born in California--and baptized in the Santa Barbara Mission. His ancestors came with Father Junipero Serra to found the missions and Santa Barbara, where he grew up.
When he was twelve, he moved with his parents to Anchorage, Alaska, where his father began a plumbing and roofing business. He worked in the business from the time he was about sixteen years old. Like most Alaskans, he hunted and fished all the available game. He also worked in a salmon cannery. His friendship with his college roommate at the University of Washington remained an important one all of his life, as well as other friendships.
Dance lessons at Arthur Murray introduced him to his future wife, Lillian Joyce Bothwell. Family was always important to Fred, so after his father retired and he and his mother moved back to Santa Barbara, he moved there so they could meet his new daughter.
He began working for Seaside Oil Company of Santa Barbara, they bought a house, and had a very active social life. His parents were well known in the community and he was related to most of the residents, since it was a small town in those days. There were so many Alaskans living in Santa Barbara that they formed a club. They welcomed a son and another daughter.
Seaside Oil Company merged with Tidewater Oil Company in about 1965, and required a move to the Los Angeles area. He became very involved with the Boy Scouts as a Scoutmaster, backpacking, wilderness camping, fishing, and hiking in the California mountains. He raised his family with an appreciation of the great outdoors and camping.
In 1970, he moved with his family to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with Phillips Petroleum Company. He developed multiple sclerosis and retired from Phillips in about 1987 after a thirty-plus year career with the company. He and Joyce were very actively involved in First Presbyterian Church functions.
Mrs. Hand preceded him in death October 4, 1988. He is survived by two daughters and a son, Mary Jo Hiner of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Kathleen Hand Hatfield of Grapevine, Texas, and Fredrick Paul Hand of Houston, Texas, and four grandchildren, Patrick Bethea-Hand of Houston, Texas, Mary Lacey Hatfield, Holly Joyce Hatfield, and Wendy Grace Hatfield, all of Grapevine, Texas.