David Frerichs , August 20, 1947 — October 26, 2018

David Gilbert Frerichs of Champaign passed away on Friday, October 26 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN after a long fight with heart disease. David was born in Watseka, IL on August 20, 1947 to Gilbert and Dorothy (Kuipers) Frerichs. He married Linda Hopper on November 1, 1979.

David is survived by his wife, Linda Frerichs; his sister, Karen Frerichs of San Francisco, CA; his brother Steve Frerichs of Champaign, IL; his two children Bryan Miller (Kristina) of Champaign, IL and Nickey Woods (John) of Deerfield, IL. He is also survived by his grandchildren Courtney Miller, Payton Woods and Kendall Woods. He was preceded in death by his parents.

He was a 1965 graduate of Champaign High School where he was an Eagle Scout and a member of the swim team. David’s State placing medley relay team included Kip Pope, Tom Bonnell and Jeff Trigger. He later earned a business degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

David made many lifelong friends during his time as a TKE, including Bill McKinney and Bobby Hultz. As a college student, David spent time earning money in the summer as an ironworker, which later became his lifelong passion. During his time at SIU he was also a Marine Reservist.

Upon graduating from SIU, David followed his passion and became an ironworker as a career. David was a general foreman and oversaw many major construction projects in the Champaign-Urbana area and on the University of Illinois campus. David was a 50-year member of the Ironworkers Local 380, where he was the Vice President for 15 years.

He was also a member of the Champaign First United Methodist Church and the Champaign High School C-Club. Although David was very active in his profession, his true passion was spending time with Linda and loving their grandkids. David and Linda never missed a school event, extra-curricular activity, piano recital, dance recital or any other event that included their grandkids.

It brought David tremendous joy to watch his grandkids compete as swimmers at Indian Acres, and later for the Champaign High School Maroons and Michigan State Spartans. It also brought him joy to listen to his granddaughters sing and play piano. David had a passion for antique cars, drag racing, home repair and tree house building.

He was quick to smile and help a friend whenever they were in need. David was the definition of a servant.

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