Renaissance Man Fred Mesman remembered at memorial service

More than once during a lifetime that spanned nearly a century the late Fred Mesman was referred to as a Renaissance Man – a person with wide interests and expertise in numerous areas.

So it was only fitting that Mesman, who died in December at age 98, would be remembered as such during graveside services Saturday afternoon at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery attended by a wide cross-section of the La Conner community.

Gathering on a picture-perfect sunlit day – one in which Mesman, an outdoors enthusiast, would have taken great delight – were family and friends, farmers and townies, newcomers and lifelong residents alike.

The diverse turnout came as no surprise.

As one attendee explained: "If you were involved in anything in La Conner or Skagit Valley, you knew Fred, because he was involved in just about everything."

Rev. Don Robinson, a friend for 60 years and funeral officiant, described him variously as a farmer, fisherman, hunter, mechanic, welder, woodworker, rock hound, horseshoe pitcher, birder and storyteller.

"Wouldn't it be great," said Robinson, "to see that smile of his and that twinkle in his eye again and hear him telling a story that we'd heard from him before?"

Most of those stories were well worth the re-telling.

Weekly News contributor Bob Hamblin, who knew Mesman for four decades as a fellow birder, shared a couple of his favorites over the weekend.

One was a story Mesman told from his youth on Whidbey Island before construction of the naval air station there led to the family's relocation to La Conner.

"He said when he was in his teens he was ice skating over on Whidbey and suffered a severe concussion," Hamblin related. "He had been an 'A' student, but the injury caused him to lose much of his memory. He had to work hard to regain his ability to recollect.

"He was incredibly intelligent," Hamblin said, "and had a lot of different talents and interests and was highly qualified in most all of them."

Hamblin also embraces the story of how a young Mesman invited a bullied student to sit beside him on the school bus each day so that he could avoid being picked on further.

Hamblin and Robinson each referred to Mesman's famed "rock room," which ran the length of his and wife Arlene's garage and workshop, housing a rare collection of gems a family member calls "ginormous."

"He could probably have retired on that rock collection alone," Hamblin said.

But Mesman was not the retiring type. He preferred staying active, constantly engaging a mind that explored countless topics and a heart that allowed him to see a friend in each person he encountered.

"Arlene said Fred was the kindest and sweetest man you could ever meet," Robinson noted. "He was never critical of anyone. Whatever complaints he may have had, he kept to himself."

Rather than tearing down, Mesman much preferred building up. No fix-it project was too tough to take on.

"We would marvel at his mechanical ability," said Robinson. "He could work with something – anything – that was broken and made it work again."

Not only could Mesman focus on and identify what was broken, but he likewise had the ability to see hidden beauty within the natural world, Robinson stressed, recounting a first-hand experience from a trail walk he once took in the Pleasant Ridge woods the Mesmans have long maintained.

"I happened upon Fred, who was sitting on a bench," said Robinson. "He pointed with his cane and asked: "Do you see it?' I didn't see anything. Then my eyes focused and I saw an owl. Fred had hunter's eyes. He helped me see something I would otherwise have missed."

Mesman's step-son, Jerry Masters, a La Conner Community Scholarship Foundation board member, confirmed both the visual acuity and respect for nature.

"I went hunting with him a few times," Masters recalled on Saturday, "but I think he enjoyed looking at the birds more than shooting them."

In a tribute he posted on the Kern Funeral Home webpage, and which Robinson shared with mourners, Masters remembered Mesman as "a man as sturdy as a tree, but gentle enough to allow the wind to pass through leaving birds and squirrels protected in his branches."

Robinson said Mesman collected rocks and friends in equal measure, finding gems in each, using those twin interests to smooth rough edges wherever he found them.

"All his many friends," said Robinson, "were like parts of his extensive rock collection. He truly was a friend to many and was a warm, welcoming person."

A person, it turned out, who was rock solid by nature and thus well suited to traverse the many trails he crossed in a long life well-lived.