Fred was born in Den Hague, Netherlands in 1936, the only child of Jacob and Theresa (van Bergen) Tebbenhoff.
In 1959, he married Charlotte Neveux in Brussels, Belgium and moved to her home in Biddeford. Maine where they raised their family of five children. During that time, Fred worked at the Biddeford Journal, and owned and operated a tool rental and hardware store in town.
His career eventually took him to Coca-Cola where he travelled the Western U.S. designing and installing bottling and canning lines. Having divorced years earlier, it was at Coca-Cola that he met Mary (Gruizinga) Smith and swept her off her feet with his Dutch charm. He and Mary married in Tracy, California in 1997.
Fred and Mary retired to Michigan to enjoy a rural life near the shores of Lake Michigan. Fred loved to garden, drive his pickup truck with his dog, and tinker with tools. He was well loved by family, friends and neighbors, but especially by his two constant furry companions, Lilly and Gracie. Fred and Mary loved to travel and had recently traveled to Australia to meet his half-brother Jack, who he found via Facebook.
Fred is survived by: his wife Mary, of Pierport, Michigan; son Peter, of Bedford, New Hampshire; daughter Lucy and son Eric, of Biddeford, Maine; daughter Claire, of Phoenix, Arixona; son Hans of Yarmouth, Maine; half-brother Jack of Collory, Australia; along with 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by: parents Jacob Tebbenhoff and Theresa van Bergen, and half-brother Gerrie Tebbenhoff.
A memorial service will be held for Fred later this summer in Maine. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations be made to your local hospice.
Mary and his children would like to send special thanks to Fred’s Munson Hospice care team Loriann, Trina, Jessica, and Bump for their kind and caring dedication to Fred’s comfort.
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