November 4, 1944 – November 20, 2025 Frederick Christopher Birchmore, Senior, passed away peacefully at his home in El Cajon on November 20, 2025, where he had been surrounded by friends and family. Frederick was born in Brunswick, Georgia, during World War II, where his mother, Willa Deane Stuckey Birchmore, was working as a carpenter building Liberty ships while his father, Frederick Agnew Birchmore, served as a gunnery officer on convoy escort duty across the Atlantic. After the war, the family moved to Athens, Georgia, where they shared a home, “Happy Hollow,” with his grandfather, Frederick Gilliam Birchmore. His childhood was filled with energy and exploration—family vacations were almost always camping trips, with birdwatching, mountain climbing, and specimen collecting adding to the adventure. In his high school years, Frederick played on the tennis team, and he continued for four years on the University of Georgia varsity team. Frederick and his doubles partner won the Southern Junior Boys’ Doubles Championship. A member of Sigma Chi fraternity, Frederick was accepted for graduate studies in architecture, but he learned that he would be drafted before classes were to start. He enlisted in the Navy, following his father’s example of service. Frederick became a gunnery officer on the USS Fort Marion, crossing the Pacific multiple times and navigating the Cua Viet River on Swift Boats to land Marines in combat zones. Settling in San Diego, Frederick became a real estate appraiser and ultimately a Senior Right of Way Agent for the Southern District of Caltrans. He met and married Mary Eileen Goedicke, and they had two children, Frederick Jr. and Katherine. Family life included annual trips to a Methodist camp meeting in Georgia, camping in the desert and mountains, skiing, snorkeling, playing guitar, and participation in Christian Youth Theater. Frederick is remembered for his benevolent patience, his sage and balanced advice, his verbal virtuosity, and his meticulous craftsmanship in many media. A lifelong tinkerer, he designed the circuitry for and built a working R2-D2 prop that his son and daughter rode on stage for Christian Youth Theater and Christian Community Theater, and became a strong supporter of his daughter and grandchildren’s professional filming of movies and television. He was a devoted father, beloved brother, reliable friend, and honorable servant of the public, of God, and of his country. Frederick was preceded in passage by his parents, many of his friends, and by his lifelong close friend, Dr. Alex Keller. He is survived by Mary Eileen Birchmore; their children, Katherine, and Frederick Jr. and his wife, Christina; four grandchildren, Tate, Maximus, Morgan, and Frederick Simon Birchmore; sisters Rebecca Birchmore Campen and her husband, Tom, and Melinda Birchmore Musick and her husband, Joe; brother Daniel Birchmore; nieces Christy Kraueter and Katie Musick; nephews Brad and Bud Bedingfield and Andy and Carter Musick; three great-nieces and six great-nephews; his honorary son, Jonathan Schmitt; and many other beloved relatives and friends.