Earle Mervyn Frederick

Mr. Earle Mervyn Frederick was born on December 10, 1941 in the small fishing village of Castara, on the tiny West Indian island of Tobago. He was one of the three sons of the late Raymond and Alison Frederick. His brother Victor passed away at a young age, while Earle is survived by his older brother, Carl Frederick. Earle's time in Trinidad was filled with fond memories. He would regale people with stories about growing up poor in a household that lived by the sayings "Don't hang your basket where your hand can't reach" and "Eat less, drink less, and get your own". Earle made kites, created carts, repaired gramophones, bicycles, and children's toys that he was given because he had a knack for technical tasks and engineering, though he struggled in school. He and his brothers hunted wild animals like iguanas, manicou, and agouti and fished in the rivers nearby. When he wasn't flying kites or fishing, he played cricket and aspired to be as good at football (soccer) as his older brother, Carl. Earle immigrated to the US in 1966, after graduating from Bishop Highschool in Tobago. He attended RCA Technical Institute of New York. After RCA, he attended Federal City College in Washington, D.C., now known as the University of the District of Columbia. While in school, Ann, a friend of the Frederick family back in Tobago, introduced him to Opal Smith, her best friend. After graduating and accepting his first engineering position at Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, Earle and Opal married and welcomed Robert, their first son, in 1973. After living in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. until 1978, Earle was one of five train control engineers picked to work on the MARTA project in Atlanta, GA. He worked with General Railway Systems (GRS) and moved the family to Stone Mountain, GA. Earle and Opal welcomed their second son Jason in 1980. Earle worked for Union Switch and Signal before switching to work for MARTA fulltime until he retired in August of 2002. Earle was always telling jokes. He loved to laugh, socialize, go to carnival events, travel, and music was a big part of his life. He tried all sorts of things in his retirement like air condition repair, small electronics repair, computer repair, television repair, and planned to use his skills in the same way he had as a child to help those less fortunate or who could not afford to pay for these services. Each time, he found that people were less interested in repairs, since the cost of parts began to become more than just buying new devices. Earle found his calling after retirement by volunteering with two non-profit organizations, an after-school program for kids, and later joined Jason's non-profit, Neo Networks (www.neonetworksinc.org) in 2006. Earle spent his extra time away from his volunteer work at 4 Senior Centers (Lou Walker Senior Center, South Dekalb Senior Center, Helena Mills Center in Atlanta, and Clarkston Community Center) and spending time with family. Earle is survived by 3 grandchildren. Remington, 19, and Gabrielle, 15, are the son and daughter of Robert and Kimberly Frederick who live in Seattle, Washington. Jason shares a daughter, Devyn, 11, with Laryssa Frederick in Georgia. Stephen, Carl and Geraldine Frederick's son, Earle's nephew, is one of the pall bearers who has come down from Maryland. He was a role model, an innovator, a comedy club member, played Caribbean music at the Senior centers, and was an inspiration to multiple generations of family and friends that are celebrating his life, his accomplishments, and feel blessed to have had the time they had with him. "In lieu of flowers, the family would like consideration to be made for a donation to be made to Neo Networks, a non-profit where Earle volunteered and ran with his wife Opal and his son Jason. The website can be found here: https://neonetworksinc.org Thank you and God Bless." Livestream link: https://m.youtube.com/live/6c9vfoOF3Jo?feature=share

Tributes

Earle Mervyn Frederick

December 10, 1941 - April 21, 2024