Fred John Fraboni Sr.

1920 - 2013

Fred John Fraboni Sr.
Nov 4, 1920 - Sept 17, 2013
Resident of San Jose
Founder of Fraboni Termite Control, and local theatre veteran, died on Tuesday the 17th of September in San Jose, with his wife and family in attendance. Fred was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, the son of Franchina and Amadeo Fraboni; Fred spent his youth in nearby Virginia, MN; he attended Virginia Jr. College, the MN School of Business and Hamline University as well as flight school in Altus, OK, graduating with the Class of 1945B. When the trumpets of World War II sounded, Fred found himself aboard the General Hodges troop ship bound for Clark Field in the Philippines. At final destination, Fred served as a pilot and finance officer for the United States Air Force. He later became a reservist for 16 years, retiring with the rank of Major assigned to the 9367th Air Reserve Squadron. Settling in California after the war Fred, with his first wife Muriel Grande Kline and their first-born son, Fred, Jr., Fred founded Fraboni Termite Control which for the past several years has been owned and operated by Fred, Jr. In 1975, Fred was sworn in as President of the State Pest Control Operators. Fred was affiliated with San Jose Civic Light Opera (later American Musical Theatre) for 20 years, as board member, producer and actor."I have had a love affair with theatre all of my life"; his signature role was as the King in The King and I; he appeared with Theodore Bikel, Janice Paige, Van Johnson, Harve Presnell and other film stars who graced the stage of the CPA. Over the years he performed with theatre departments at Foothill College, West Valley College, and Santa Clara's Mayer Theatre where he was also a board member. In the 1990's, he was Uncle Luigi in Bay Area productions of the off-Broadway play Tony 'N Tina's Wedding. Later in life, Fred took up woodworking, using the wood lathe his father gave him when Fred was 17; he created countless beautiful items, many of which were donated to fund-raising events in the community. "He was the Pied Piper of optimism" notes his wife LaVonne; "His legacy is his smile, his sense of humor, his generosity and his encouragement of everyone to wring the most out of life each and every precious day." Fred was a lover of all music, from the classics to barbershop and everything in between. He was a past-president of the Garden City Chorus of San Jose. Fred is survived by five children issue of the marriage to Muriel Kline: Fred, Jr. (wife Lauraine; Christina, her husband Andrew; Nicholas and Anna Marie; son William; son Richard, known as Max (wife Cindy; Megan and Hailey); Peggy Lee Melick (daughters Trinity, her husband John; children Terrell, Tayla and Aiden); Naomi (husband Nathan, daughter Noelle); and Rachel; and son John (Wife Lisa; Erin and Bretton). In addition Fred is survived by niece Maria and her daughter Selina; he is godfather to Selina and Michael Tripoli of Gilroy - and numerous nieces and nephews: Mario Fraboni, Denise Root, Diana Van Rybroek, Susan Fraboni Keto, Raymond Jr., Michael, Paul and Jeffrey Fraboni; he is also survived by cousins BarbaraTripoli, Nancy Fraboni Edwards and Rob Fraboni of Connecticut. There will be a memorial service at St. Martin of Tours, 200 O'Connor Drive, San Jose, on Friday, September 27th, at 2:30 p.m., with reception to follow in the community building.