Fred Leslie Mortensen Jr.

Fred Leslie Mortensen Jr.

Ventura, CA

Our beloved Fred Leslie Mortensen, Jr., 89, passed away peacefully at Victoria Care Center, Ventura, on Tuesday, December 29 while in hospice care. He was born on March 6, 1926 in Glendale, Calif. A resident of Ventura County for more than 20 years, he had relocated from the Los Angeles area after retiring from a four-decade career with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Fred graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale in January 1944. After early graduation, he and many young men in his class reported for military duty. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, assigned to the attack transport USS Alpine in the Pacific. After the war, he attended Glendale College and then UCLA, where he graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in interior design. He completed post-baccalaureate studies at Los Angeles State University to prepare for his career as a teacher. Fred taught mathematics and industrial arts, first at Bancroft Junior High School in Los Angeles, and later for over a quarter-century at Mt. Gleason Junior High School in Sunland. He retired from teaching in 1986.

As a young man, Fred, like his father, worked in carpentry; he was a life-long member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. His woodworking skills-and all-around resourcefulness-were appreciated by many when his sons were involved in the Boy Scouts. He was an active adult leader in Scouting, serving for a time as Scoutmaster of Troop 308 in Tujunga. For his dedication to Scouting, the Verdugo Hills Council BSA awarded him the Silver Beaver Award.

In retirement, Fred was active in United Methodist Church congregations in Tujunga, where he lived for 33 years, and in Ventura. From Tujunga, he explored the United States by car and train with his wife, Betty. After she passed away and he remarried, he enjoyed traveling the world with his wife, Willamae.

Fred is survived by his sons, Kenneth Mortensen (Sandra) of Norco, Calif., and Peter Mortensen (Karen) of Urbana, Ill., and his daughter-in-law Sydnee J. (Balsiger) Mortensen of Ojai, Calif. Also surviving are six grandchildren: Sarah, Ellen, and Andrew Mortensen of Urbana, Ill., Elizabeth and Nicole Mortensen of Norco, Calif., and Chad Mortensen (Tara) of Columbia, SC, as well as Chad and Tara's son Carlin, Fred's first great-grandchild. Fred was preceded in death by his mother, Marie C. (Smith) Mortensen; his father, Fred L. Mortensen; his sister, Evelyn C. (Mortensen) Wenker; his first wife, Shirley (Waldron) Hartley; his son with Shirley, Stephen Harry Mortensen; his second wife, Elizabeth Mary (Haymaker) Mortensen; and his third wife, Willamae (Kopp) Mortensen.

A funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday, January 6, 11 a.m., at College United Methodist Church, 4300 Telegraph Rd., Ventura. Rev. John Robison will officiate. Interment is to be at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura. The family asks that memorial gifts in Fred Mortensen's memory be made to Verdugo Hills Council, Boy Scouts of America, 1325 Grandview Avenue, Glendale, CA 91201.

Fred was entrusted to family owned and operated Reardon Funeral Home. To pay tribute please visit www.Reardonfh.com.