Fred Hengehold

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Fred Hengehold

103, Fred Hengehold, co-founder of Hengehold Motor Company, a Palo Alto truck rental and sales company, died peacefully at his home in Menlo Park on Friday, February 2nd. Born May 11, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fred's family moved west and homesteaded land near the small mining town of Globe, Arizona, where his father became a successful grocer and part-time gold prospector.In 1922, with a few dollars in his pocket and a sense of adventure, Fred and a couple of his friends hopped a freight train and headed for southern California to seek their fortunes. Briefly sidetracked to Mexico, the young men went to a cantina, had a beer, and decided to spend the better part of their remaining cash on passenger train tickets to San Diego.In 1924, Fred took a job in Los Angeles with Mack Trucks, got transferred to San Francisco, and stayed on with Mack through World War II as their only salesman because almost the entire Mack production at that time went to the war effort. In 1948, he partnered with his brother, Val, and founded Hengehold Motor Company on El Camino Real at Matadero in Palo Alto. An early customer was the newly incorporated Hewlett-Packard Company. In 1965, the business moved to its present location on San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, and was eventually joined by sons Jim and David Hengehold. By the time Fred retired in 2003, at the age of 100, granddaughter Christine Hengehold Twichell and grandson Matt Hengehold had joined the firm.Fred will be remembered for his wit, wisdom, and great generosity. The lessons he learned from living through two world wars and the Great Depression were never forgotten by him, and they contributed greatly to his conservative business style.Fred's wife, Eleanor, predeceased him in 2000, and his eldest son, Fred, Jr., died at age 14 in 1954. His brother, Val, and his sister, Katherine, also predeceased him. His survivors include three sons: David, James, and Richard; six grandchildren: Lisa Hengehold Newton; Christine Hengehold Twichell, Matt Hengehold, Anne Hengehold, Lindsay Hengehold Packard, and Specialist 1st Class, Raymond Hengehold, U. S. Army, stationed in Iraq; and six great-grandchildren: Reagan, Blake, and Presley Newton, Hank and Hadley Twichell, and Eliza Packard.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Palo Alto Little League, which Fred sponsored enthusiastically for many years. The league can be reached at: treasurer@pa baseball.org.A Memorial service will be held at St. Denis Catholic Church in Menlo Park on Saturday, February 10th. Burial will be private.