Obituary of Captain Frederick Paul Christian

Captain Frederick Paul Christian of Salem, passed away, surrounded by his wife and children, on Monday, March 10, 2014 at Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. He was 71 years old. Born April 19, 1942 in Boston, Fred was raised in Bedford, participating as a long-distance runner and football player at Bedford High School, where he graduated in 1961. Following graduation he began his first career, training as an airplane mechanic at East Coast Aero Tech in Bedford and earning his pilot's license. He began flying for Northeast Airlines in 1966, which merged with Delta in 1972. He retired from Delta in 2003 after 37 years of service to the airline industry. Trading the open skies for the open seas, Fred also secured his maritime master's license from the US Coast Guard, earning his 500-ton master license. As a captain for Fleet Yacht Charters, the Charles River Boat Company and others, he was well-known around Boston Harbor, where he worked for over three decades. An avid sportsman, Fred turned his passion into his third career, becoming an Orvis-endorsed guide in 1992. He led hunting and fishing trips throughout New England and Canada. He was the past president of the Musketaquid Sportsmen's Club, in Concord. He was a life-time member of the International Federation of Fly Fishers, where he served as both a regional and national board member, a former member of the board of Coastal Conservation and former charter boat representative to the New England Marine Fisheries Board. A dedicated and voracious scholar of the maritime trade, he relished opportunities to share that knowledge. He taught with SEA Semester in Wood's Hole, serving seven weeks aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer in the Caribbean, and taught aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle. He was an active volunteer and crew member of the wooden tall ship, Friendship, with the National Park Service in Salem. Captain Fred is preceded in death by his mother, Helen Barry Christian, and his father, Frederick Sidney Christian. In addition to his beloved wife Linda S. (Duley) Christian, with whom he shared 34 years of marriage, Fred is survived by his children and their spouses, Jill E. Christian and Dr. David Greif of Albuquerque, NM, Capt. Paul F. Christian and Megan McGough Christian of Brighton, and Capt. Kate E. Christian of Cambridge; 2 granddaughters, Nicole Greif and Kiera Ortiz; his sisters Nancy D. Christian of Gilford, NH, and Joan E. Stevens of Charlotte, NC; his former wife, Patricia Boeing of Concord; and several cousins, nieces and nephews. His family will receive relatives and friends on Saturday, March 15, 2014, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, A family memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family requested that memorial contributions be made in Fred’s name to Tall Ships America, PO Box 1459, Newport, RI 02840 www.sailtraining.org . Please visit www.ccbfuneral.com for directions, online obituary and memorial guest book.