Frederick Arthur Richard Tiller was born in Toledo on May 22, 1941, to Francis and Josephine (Bolz) Tiller and died on November 6, 2008, in Lafayette, Louisiana. Fred grew up in Toledo and was a 1959 graduate of Macomber Vocational High School. He earned a Bachelor of Education degree with a Math Major; Science/ Business Minors from the University of Toledo in 1964. While at U. T. he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and became the Beta Iota Chapter Advisor in 1991 and received their 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award. Following graduation from U. T., Fred taught high school mathematics for a few years at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo. His other employment included 8 years with W. T. Grant Co. in Toledo and Fremont in a variety of management positions (1968-1975); Assistant Manager of A.C.O. Hardware in Livonia, Michigan (1975-1976); Restaurant Operations District Manager with the K-Mart Corp. of Troy, Michigan (1976-1998) Business Manager for St. Richard Catholic Parish in Swanton, Ohio (1998-2006). He retired in June 2006 and moved to Lafayette, LA. Fred was very generous with his time, talent and treasure. Each year while working at St. Richard Parish he contributed twenty-five food baskets for the poor and needy at Christmas; cooked for funeral and other dinners and organized a variety of projects for the parish including the Memorial Gardens. He enjoyed gardening, flowers, music, cooking, and travel and had collections of various kinds including coins and stamps. He loved animals, especially his two faithful companions - Lady and Luck. He was truly a good steward of his management, leadership, organizational, teaching, and communication skills. He was an active member of the Knights of Columbus Sacred Heart Council 2850. Fred was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Janet Miller.
He is survived by three brothers, Charles (Bonnie) Tiller, Joseph (Arnette) Tiller and Marvin (Colleen) Tiller; his brother-in-law, Ray Miller; fourteen nieces and nephews and many cousins.
Visitation will be on November 25th in St. Richard Church in Swanton, Ohio at 4:00 p.m. followed by a Memorial Mass at 5:00 p.m. Interment will be in the parish Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Richard Church (333 Brookside Dr., Swanton, Ohio 43558).
[The Blade, Nov. 23, 2008]