Kevin Leo Fredette of Morgantown, passed away on Oct. 26, 2023.
In addition to Hilary, his wife of 42 years, Kevin leaves behind two daughters, Allison Fredette and husband William Hicks, Emma Jaeger and husband Nick; and four grandsons, Henry, Walter, Armen, and August. He is also survived by his mother, Alice Fredette, and four brothers, Stephen (Peg), Peter (Kim), Michael, and David (Annika). He was preceded in death by his father, Leo Fredette.
Kevin was born in Brockton, Mass., in 1955. While he was originally from Massachusetts, he also lived in Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, California and West Virginia. He attended Hingham (Mass.) High School, received his BA in history from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and his MLS from the University of Michigan.
Kevin always enjoyed learning; he loved to read and study. When he was at UMass, he was known as someone who actually “liked” to write history papers, a unique passion. Kevin became a librarian because he was fascinated by information and he loved to search for, and help others with, difficult-to-find information. During his career, he developed in-depth knowledge about government documents, the law and law libraries, and special collections.
Kevin was a quiet, gentle person who loved being home with his family, his books, and his music. Kevin was always kind and caring about those around him, especially his family. He was extremely well-read and, while he preferred reading to almost any other pursuit, he also loved classic jazz, politics, and history. A life-long student of jazz, he dreamt of writing a book on the Boston jazz scene of the 50’s and 60’s.
But hidden below his quiet, scholarly exterior was a brilliantly dry sense of humor and an unparalleled passion for sports — specifically Boston sports and college basketball. An avid Red Sox fan, Kevin once submitted a help ticket to a Yankees-loving colleague saying that there must be a problem with his computer because it kept telling him that the Yankees were beating the Red Sox. Along with the Red Sox, Kevin loved the Celtics and Patriots, but no sporting event held his interest more than college basketball’s March Madness tournament and no document was more critical than his bracket. For Kevin, there was March and then there were all those other months.
Friends of Kevin’s are invited to a celebration of his life at the West Virginia Botanic Garden Education Center between the hours of 2-5 p.m. on Dec. 2.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
