Bill Fenter fit many careers into a lifetime. He was a firefighter, a fire chief and a reserve sheriff’s deputy. He owned small businesses and worked 25 years in the boating industry. At retirement age, he delivered flowers for a family business.
He changed jobs often, but always his devotion to people and hard work remained.
George “Bill” Fenter died June 2 after suffering complications from a surgery. He was 72.
Born June 30, 1937, Fenter lived all his life in the Snohomish area.
A 1955 graduate of Snohomish High School, Fenter studied music at Western Washington State College and later served in the U.S. Coast Guard.
In the Clearview area are several small fire stations built by Fenter, who served as a volunteer firefighter and as chief of Fire District 7 from 1963 until 1966. One of his daughters, Cindy Frederickson, said her father worked as Snohomish County’s first fire marshal and for police departments in Lake Stevens and Gold Bar before becoming a reserve deputy with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
His role in bringing services to the rural area south of Snohomish included time on the board of directors of the Cross Valley Water Association that helped bring water service to Clearview.
“I remember being at the fire station many times on Saturdays when he was volunteering,” said Frederickson, who also has girlhood memories of riding with her dad on emergency calls.
After Fenter’s wife, Debbie, died in 2004, he lived with Cindy Frederickson and her husband, Ernie on their property south of Snohomish. He worked delivering flowers for Everett Floral, which is owned by his daughter and son-in-law. Last week, a sign outside the Fredericksons’ flower shop on Evergreen Way read “In Loving Memory of Bill.”
Bill Fenter was preceded in death by his parents, George and Eleanor Fenter, and by his wife Debbie. He is survived by his children, Cindy Frederickson and her husband, Ernie; Scot Fenter and his wife, Tricia; Rick Fenter and his wife, Bee; and Jenifer Smith and her husband, Jacob; all of Snohomish; by 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; by sisters Bitzi Baxter and Susie Butler; and by many other loved ones and friends. He was divorced from his first wife, Susan, the mother of Cindy, Rick and Scot.
“He was a real character, just an all-around very hard worker and great guy,” said Carol Fawcett, director of sales operations for US Marine, formerly Bayliner Marine, in Arlington.
In 1973, Fenter went to work for Bayliner. He became a regional sales manager, “prospecting for new dealers and working with our existing dealers on events, showroom displays and boat shows,” Fawcett said. “In 25 years, he worked in both domestic and international sales,” she said.
“Everything he could do for the dealers he was doing for them,” said Ken Naff, regional service manager at US Marine. “And always the big smile. He was always pleasant, and always had a good word to say. He was a good guy,” said Naff, who knew Fenter as a boy in Snohomish.
“His mother was a teacher at Cathcart Elementary,” Naff said. “He was always busy. He didn’t let the grass grow under his feet.”
Over the years, Fenter was involved in running several small businesses, a construction company called Aldercrest Homes, his family-owned Ace Towing, Inc., and Attorney Services in Everett.
“He could not sit still,” Cindy Frederickson said. “He had to have something to be involved in, something all the time. It didn’t have to be lucrative. He was that kind of a guy.”
Frederickson loved working with her father in the flower business in recent years. “A man who did international sales for millionaires came to work with me. It was just a real honor, being back with your family,” she said. “And delivering flowers is a happy thing.”
Gary Mattison, a retired Bayliner dealer in Rochester, Minn., remembers going to Chicago as a young man in a competitive quest to land a dealership.
“Bayliner was the hottest boat in the land. Several people had applied for dealerships for my district. I was interviewed by this wonderful gentleman, Bill Fenter,” Mattison said. “He made me who I am today, he was my mentor. This guy cared. This guy was a cut above.”
Cindy Frederickson said her father loved to ride his Harley-Davidson. He had made the motorcycle pilgrimage to the Sturgis biker rally in South Dakota.
“He was always waiting for the warm sun to be able to ride,” she said. “He lived his life fully, completely, to the last.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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