Fred SCAMMELL

SCAMMELL Fred
August 23, 1921 - December 28, 2011
In words he used many times himself when talking about fallen friends, Fred Scammell "cashed in his chips" just before midnight on December 28th at the Ottawa General Hospital.
Fred died peacefully after a short illness, with family members keeping an around the clock vigil as the sun set on a full and rewarding life.
Fred leaves behind daughter Janice, sons Terrence (Sheila) and Ron (Anne), grandchildren Cal, Chey (Alison), Evan, and Mariel, great-granddaughters Riley and Devin, and sisters Mary and Flora.
Born in Winnipeg, Fred joined the Army just after the start of World War II and served overseas in England and Holland with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. After the war he returned to "WinterPeg", as he liked to call his hometown, and married sweetheart Kathleen Scammell (deceased 2010). Not long after, he was posted to Montreal, moving up in Army ranks to Warrant Officer II.
By the time he moved to Ottawa with his young family in 1961, Fred had made the shift to a new career within the military as a computer programmer in the very early days of the digital revolution. In that era he worked with gigantic Univac computers that filled entire rooms and had less processing power than today's average laptop.
Fred and family thrived in Ottawa as he shifted from the Army to the federal civil service and settled into Ottawa's Riverview Park neighborhood, which would remain his home for close to 40 years.
Fred was an avid curler in the winter and a golfer in summer, getting up routinely for 6 am tee-offs after retiring in the mid-1970s. Winters were spent in Florida and summers either in Ottawa or travelling out to the West Coast to spend time with the rest of the Scammell clan.
Fred's Army connections remained strong throughout his life with ex-soldiers forming the core of his close network of friends. Every year he relished helping to organize and to attend the annual reunion of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps or "Reconditioned Old Crocks" as he delighted in telling people in his later years. Fred also took part in the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Europe, travelling to the Netherlands with the Canadian contingent in the mid-nineties.
When he was no longer able to live at home due to his slowly advancing Alzheimer's condition, Fred moved to the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre where he received exemplary care from staff and volunteers.
Despite the ravages of memory loss, Fred's basic personality remained constant, greeting visiting family and staff, though names had long been forgotten, with a nod or a handshake. Rolling down the hallways in his wheelchair with the assistance of longtime caregiver Ashley Yusuf, Fred would often raise his hand to passing strangers.
In the last years, as speech became increasingly scarce, Fred never forgot the two words he spoke most often to those he came in contact with: "Thank You."
A funeral service celebrating Fred's life will take place at The Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, 1750 Russell Road, Ottawa, on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 11:00 am, with interment to follow at the Beechwood National Military Cemetery, with a gathering afterward in the Fleming Reception Suite of Beechwood.