Fred Thornton Scharrer Jr.'s Obituary
Fred T. Scharrer, Jr. , 92, of Miami went home to be with the Lord on July 15, 2012. Born on Jan. 11, 1920 in Tarentum, Pa., Fred moved to Miami in 1923 with his parents, Fred Sr. and Helen (Milford) and brother William. After graduating Miami Sr. High in 1939, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve Squadron and was called to active duty in 1941. After a stint as a Merchant Marine Cadet, Fred graduated from Pensacola NAS in June 1944, was assigned to combat teams on the USS Hornet and the USS Yorktown. Missions were flown supporting the Iwo Jima invasion and the first fighter strikes on the Tokyo area. Each pilot was credited with shooting down a Japanese fighter. After the war, Fred attended the University of Miami and started his civilian pilot career with Eastern and Peninsular Airlines, continuing with Florida Gov. Haydon Burns, and then 20 years as Ryder System’s chief pilot. He logged 24,000 flying hours and continued to be a flight instructor until age 80. He was a member of the Miami Springs Exchange Club in the 1960s, and since 1960 until the present, Fred had been a faithful member of University Baptist Church. He was a devoted and loving family man. He was predeceased by his devoted wife, Betty, of 57 years, a former flight attendant at Peninsular Airlines. He is survived by daughters, Patricia (Gary) Hollinger of Homestead and Sandra Wargo of Boca Raton; grandchildren: Lindsay (Donald) Fox and Kristi Hollinger of Homestead; Eric, Ashley and Matthew Wargo of Boca Raton and great-grandchildren Wesley and Tyler Fox of Homestead. Visitation will be at 4 p.m. on Thursday with services following at 4:30 at the VAN ORSDEL CORAL GABLES CHAPEL, 4600 SW 8 St.
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