Fredda J. Cole

January 6, 1947 - January 31, 2018

CLARKSVILLE – Fredda J. Cole, 71, of Clarksville and Stow, Mass., passed away on Wednesday morning, Jan. 31, 2018, at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook after a very brief illness. She was born in Quincy, Mass., on Jan. 6, 1947, the daughter of the late William and Laura (Rodman) Hoffman. She attended schools locally, and graduated from North Quincy High School with the Class of 1964. She then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1968. Her command of mathematics and computer technology served her well her entire career, which was spent as an engineer and technician in the world of international finance and banking. Fredda worked as systems specialist setting up the information technology for many leading firms in international banking, eventually retiring from the Swift Company based in Brussells, Belgium. Always a bit of a daredevil, she was an avid motorcycle enthusiast, and remains the holder of the “World Land Speed Record” on her Russian Ural motorcycle (complete with sidecar), set in Utah in 2000 on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Fredda also enjoyed snowmobiling and fishing. She was a lover of music, especially at live venues, and she loved building and living in her new home on the shores of Lake Francis in Clarksville. She also loved to volunteer and become active in charity work wherever she was. Fredda leaves behind her beloved husband, James ‘Russ’ Fitch of Clarksville; two siblings, Donald Hoffman and wife Valeria of Greenville, NC, and Marjorie Serrano of Randolph, Mass.; two step-daughters, Allison Burrows and husband Gerry of Northbrook, Ill., and Shaina Cormier and husband Joseph of Cherry Valley, Mass.; her sister-in-law, Mary Lyons of Westwood, Mass.; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her first husband, Francis X. Cole in 2002. A Celebration of Fredda’s Life will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, from Noon to 4 p.m. at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Mass. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Ms. Cole may be made to the Tillotson Center, 14 Carriage Lane, Colebrook, NH 03576; or to the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts, P.O. Box 302, Colebrook, NH 03576; or to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Greater Illinois Chapter, 150 N. Michigan Ave. #1550, Chicago, IL 60601, or online at www.cff.org. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Funeral arrangements in NH are under the direction of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook.