In Memory Of Fred

We have all lost a dear and wonderful friend. I have known Fred since College and I have valued his friendship and the times we have spent together. Fred was a usher in my wedding, at my son's first birthday party and at his college graduation two years ago. His passing will leave a Hugh Hole.

I will also miss talking with Fred frequently about the fortunes of SDSU football, the Yankees and the NFL; and his plans for the future of which he had many. It is so tragic his life was cut so short. And Gary, we can never repay you for everything who have done for him.

Some stories that Fred has told me over the years:

In the early 1960's at SDSU, Fred assisted in broadcasting the SDSU football games from old Aztec bowl, part of which is now a historical landmark. One night game was so foggy that the game broadcaster , Al Coupee KOGO AM, a very colorful local sports broadcaster, could not see the field so he dispatched Fred to the sideline with a crude 1960's walkie-talkie to relay the action to the booth. The fog was so bad even Fred had problems seeing the plays. On one series of plays, the Aztecs were driving down the field and were on about the 5 yard line and Fred, on the next play, thought they had scored and reported that back to the booth. Unfortunately they actually fumbled and what Fred thought was the extra point was the first play for the other team. Fred corrected that and Al Coupee, Fred thought was ready to jump out the booth!

Fred's first job was at a local San Diego AM radio station that included a number of PR type events. One event had Fred picking the Mayor of San Diego, Mayor Curran in a limo and transport him to a ribbon cutting party. There were food/drinks etc. and Fred gave the Mayor a cupcake with blue food dye which the mayor ate several. Unfortunely for the Mayor, the food dye stuck to his teeth and lips and the Mayor however preceded to greet people and skake hands etc. I guess no one had the nerve to tell him how he looked!

When Fred had access to limos, he often asked the limo driver to drive through Jack-in-the-Box on the way back. Fred was not much of a cook. His idea of cleaning the kitchen was with a dust rag. When he move to his first apt. in LA, he invited me over for dinner. It consisted of burnt to a crisp frozen hamburger patty and instant potatoes that were awful and we ended up in a near-by restaurant. Fred never cooked for me again.

Fred had a uncle ( real character) who sold new Fords. Fred and I both bought new 1969 mustangs Mach 1's from his uncle with 8-cyl 408 cubic engine - the best cars we ever owned and what power. They actually appreciated in price for a while. Fred took his car into the service dept. for maintenance where his uncle worked and his uncle sold the car somehow and made a nice profit which he shared with Fred, but of course lost his prize car. That was as mad as I had ever seen Fred.

Fred prior to getting married dated frequently and his roommate Tom Echols (also deceased) did not even though he was a self styled expert on women. Fred meet a waitress (Becky) at a Coco's in Fullerton one year and decided to feature her in KNX 1070 billboards all over town - actually the billboard had Fred and Becky walking on the beach. Fred got a door sized Poster and pasted on his bedroom door just to aggravate Tom Echols which it did.

Dick Watkins

I would just like to say that I have been a long time employee of KDOC TV and a big fan of the Pet Place . I have been to many of the tapings, helped out with the telethons, and been to many of the very worthy award luncheons. Fred's dedication to helping our homeless pets has been such an inspiration to me and I'm sure animal lovers everywhere. I too adopted a cat from the Pet Place show, he is now 15 years old and has brought me a lot of joy. Everyone involved with the Pet Place should feel so proud of themselves because of the shows success. We all know Fred wanted his work to continue. The Pet Place show reaches out to so many people and helps them find new pets. I've heard that the success rate is continuing strong with the new host Mickey Laszlo. We are all hoping that Pet Place will continue for a long time to come, that would be the best way we can all remember Fred and honor his dream.

HEIDI O'NEIL
Executive Assistant for:
President and General Manager of KDOC TV

The best part of the relationship I shared with Fred was the amount of fun we had together. He took me to the horse races for the first time and we had a blast, even if most of fun was derived from the food and incredible dessert and not from winning money or watching the ponies. I think that was also what bonded us as friends; our love of food and good company to share it with. Be it Musso and Franks, Phillipes, The Smoke House, Moes or the Toluca Lake Tennis Club we always found time for a good meal and plenty of laughs to go along with it.
I'll very much miss him ordering half diet Coke and half regular Coke as that epitomizes to me Fred's quirky sense of rational.

He was a good man, a good friend and someone that showed me that you can be a nice and good person and still accomplish a lot.

God bless you Fred as God blessed those that knew you.

Greg Hayward

Please accept my condolesences upon learning about the death of Fred Bergendorff. I'm a KNX veteran, so had the benefits of knowing Fred, his friendly manner and thorough consideration of others. I was in the newsroom ... and a newcomer at one point, but Fred was always gracious with my questions and conversation. He represented a time at KNX that no longer exists and did it with grace ... toward the end, grace under fire.

Sincerely,
Pat Larsen, KNX Newswriter

Fred Bergendorff was a friend and a gentleman. He knew marketing. Everything he did was with class. His dog show was produced not for the money, but for all the right reasons: to save animals. No one loved animals more than Fred and The Pet Place was a true labor of love for him. His kindness for me never wavered. He was a broadcaster, a gentleman, and every animal's best friend and champion. We will miss you, Fred.

Kim Kelly, former Marketing Director, ARROW 93FM

Robert and I were so sorry to hear of Fred's passing. As did so many others, we greatly admired him for all the good he did. Fred was a man to be honored for his compassion and tireless efforts on behalf of animals. His passing is a great loss to all the people and pets who were touched by his loving kindness.

Corrine Hanley

I was so hoping and praying that Fred would recover. The world has lost a special person as I have lost a special friend.

My volunteer job with Long Beach Animal Control began with the Pet Place, it was about 18 years ago that the Pet Place was born in Long Beach. At the same time, the volunteer program at the old Long Beach Animal Shelter was starting up and the Pet Place was my first assignment. In those days we loaded up 12 animals for the show, 6 in the first segment and 6 in the last. That went on for quite some time until other shelters started sharing the time. As the shows went on so did my volunteer responsibilities to where I was the one who chose the animals the day before. We would then send one†to Doggie In The Window for grooming†and comb and put bows or bandanas on the rest. We all so appreciated the Pet Place, it was an avenue for helping find homes for the lost and abandoned pets and what was really special, it was FREE to us. I hardly ever missed a Pet Place taping (probably only five) in all those years and was even filling in for Fred at Charter Communications since his surgery and also when he lived in Las Vegas. Friends of Long Beach Animals always supported the Pet Place, we all knew how very special it was for the animals to have a program like this. As Wesley Moore of LBAC said "when Fred started the Pet Place no one else was featuring homeless pets, it was his idea that started news shows and others to feature a pet once a week or daily on their program." Even though the Long Beach Pet Place is no more, Fred's legacy will live on through other programing and hopefully the KDOC Pet Place will continue for years to come.

The picture I am sending includes myself with my blind cat Rodney, who is a Pet Place alumni, he has been in my home and heart for 13 years now.

Shirley Vaughan

What a sad, sad day for all of us who knew and loved Fred. He was a very special person whose career at KNX Newsradio played an enormous role in the success of the station. What a loss. Betty joins me in sending our heartfelt condolences to his family.

George Nicolaw

I am very sorry to learn of Fred's passing, but know he is free of any pain now and in good health and seeing his precious pets again. I enjoyed working with him as a Pet Place volunteer and know he had a big heart for animals and wanted to find loving homes for all the adoptable cats, dogs, and bunnies.

Sincerely,
Margie Olds

I've been volunteering on The Pet Place for the past 7 1/2 years. It was†a pleasure to work with everyone on the show. Fred always cared so much about the animals the were presented on the show. He always loved to hear about the animals that were adopted because they were seen on The Pet Place. He surprised me on my 6 year anniversary, of working on the show, and†did a one on one interview with me about how much it meant to me to work on the show. To me, Fred will be remembered for his true love of animals and of finding good homes for the ones that were in the shelters and being fostered by rescue groups.

Diane Sandison

I join the others with a profound feeling of shock and sadness at Fred's passing. I was hopeful he would rally from his debilitation, but it obviously was too much for him. He didn't deserve the pain and suffering. I truly believe he is in a better place. A peaceful place. I know he just wanted to go home, out of that hospital, out of that rehab place. Now he has.

I knew Fred from day one at KNX, and our friendship continued long after both of us were gone from the station. So many stories. So many memories. Not all for print. To put it simply, he was a gentle man, really a good, caring man. We shared many times together, had a lot of laughs too.

I thought it appropriate to pass along a poem which I found many years ago and which, sadly, has been used too often over the years when dear friends and family have passed. I hope it gives all of you some solace now ... and I hope it might be shared at Fred's service as well. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of Fred's friends and family.

Arlen Peters

A person never dies until no one remembers them. As long as you keep them in your mind and in your heart, they will always live on.

Cindy and I were saddened to hear of Fred's passing. He was truly a man who loved animals and person the entire humane community should miss. Fred was a kind, wonderful friend who always took his precious time to sit and talk or offer his encouragement during my career in Animal Services. I will miss Fred but will always have his memory in my heart. God bless Fred for he is now at peace.

John Gonzales

I am so deeply saddened by the loss of our friend, Fred. Fred gave me the opportunity to show my love for animals by being involved with The Pet Place. My first meeting with him was a promo we taped for an upcoming telethon. I then was given a time slot on the show for our "On The Go" segments as well as working behind the scenes and eventually filling in when he was unable to host. Over the years Fred became a very supportive friend and colleague. It is disheartening to know the extent of pain he has gone through over these past several months, but comforting to know that he is now at peace. My prayers go out to all of Fred's family and friends. He will be missed.

Love,
Mickey Laszlo

I have been trying to write this, but I haven't known where or how to start. I should probably start by saying that I cannot believe this all happened so fast, but I am so thankful that Fred is no longer suffering. I know it had been a terrible road for the past few months, and no one should have to live their life in pain. Thank you Gary for doing such an amazing job of taking care of Fred, and all of his affairs, through this difficult time (and long before). You really were his right-hand man! I know how difficult it must have been to watch a close friend deteriorate; Fred was extremely lucky to have you in his life.

On to the memories...

It was a complete fluke that I met Fred and was introduced to The Pet Place. When I was 10 years old we adopted a dog from the show, when I was 20 or 21 I was looking for a volunteer opportunity that involved animals, remembering the show I Googled it, emailed Fred, and the rest is history!

For the past 4 years I have been lucky enough to work with Fred on the show and most of its various events. Although I was young when I first met Fred, he never held that against me. ÊHe always treated me as a professional, entrusted me with many different responsibilities and passed his production/communications wisdom on to me. Without him I do not think I would have been given the opportunity to become so involved.

I cannot begin to recount all of the funny, frustrating, unbelievable, touching, stressful and crazy (to name a few) moments we have all shared with Fred and the animals. Fred and I shared a love for Vegas and Greek food, he liked to hear all about my life, especially my travels, and every time I saw him he would ask if I was engaged yet. Some of the best times I can remember were when we all went out after the shows; that was when the most interesting conversations always took place!

Knowing Fred and working with him was truly an adventure, and I will never forget his friendship and the way he influenced my life. I have met so many wonderful people as a result of working with him. The Pet Place is an amazing creature to be a part of, and I am confident that the strong network of people he brought together will keep it going long into the future.

Love,
Amanda Nilos