Frederick Charles Wiegert

Frederick C. Wiegert, age 88, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, in Athens, Georgia, following an unexpected hemorrhagic stroke two days earlier.

Fred was born on February 13, 1937, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the son of Frederick H. and Johanna H. (Tegge) Wiegert, and grew up on the family farm in Town Cato. “Fritz” (as he was known to family) attended Valders High School and was a member of the school’s wrestling team; his summers were spent working at a local dairy. After starting at community college, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and majored in chemical engineering. A severe bout with mononucleosis hospitalized Fred and forced his withdrawal from university just a few credits shy of graduation.

Without a student deferral, Fred became eligible for the draft, so he preemptively enlisted in the Army. He was stationed in Seoul, South Korea, assigned to decode and monitor North Korean communications. He was also responsible for learning and maintaining the data processing equipment for the soldiers’ payroll.

Fred’s extensive experience with Army computer equipment led to his job as a systems programmer and analyst for the state of Wisconsin, following his military discharge in 1963. He pioneered the use of remote data processing in Wisconsin, most notably by programming a network of water-quality stations along the Fox River, one of the first such systems in the country. He also earned the reputation of knowing how to fix almost any software or hardware problem with the state’s mainframes in Madison. In 1968 he met Pat through work, as she wrote computer programs to run on the computers he maintained. They fell in love, and married on August 2, 1975, the second marriage for each.

In 1985 Fred and Pat left Madison and moved to Beaverton, Oregon for Pat’s career in state pension systems. During this time, Fred’s role as stay-at-home dad and his newfound aptitude for cooking and baking were featured in The Oregonian newspaper. Fred and Pat moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990, settling in San Ramon, and Fred enjoyed a second career with IBM in remote mainframe support. Several years after retirement, they moved to Athens in 2013 in order to be closer to family. It was there that they were adopted by a stray kitten, Toffee, who became “daddy’s little girl”.

Throughout his life, Fred found joy in gardening, carpentry, fishing, birdwatching, and investing. He loved chess and playing cribbage with his relatives. He also served the Lutheran churches he attended, as treasurer and in other leadership roles. He was at the forefront of the home computing revolution, and modeled a strong work ethic, problem-solving skills, and financial prudence for his children.

Fred had a very dry sense of humor. He particularly enjoyed telling people that he had three Pat Wiegerts in his life: his brother’s wife, his first wife, and his second wife. His mother christened them “big Pat”, “little Pat”, and “other Pat”, respectively, and the nicknames became a family in-joke.

Fred is survived by his wife of 50 years, Patricia F. (Majeski) Wiegert; his son and daughter-in-law Timothy L. Wiegert and Christine (Ouimet) Wiegert, daughter Tami J. Wiegert, and son and son-in-law Craig C. Wiegert and Adrian Childs; and his brother Don W. Wiegert. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Marjorie M. Krueger and her husband Norman; his sister-in-law Patricia C. Wiegert; and his former wife Patricia A. (Sly) Wiegert, mother of his two eldest children.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, or to Project Safe in Athens, GA. No formal service is planned; the family hopes that everyone who knew Fred will keep his memory alive through fond reminiscences.

Athens Cremation Services is assisting the family. www.athenscremationservices.com