Home
News
ENLARGE
Fred Sohn, age 96, was born in Winnweiler, Germany January 22, 1915. He died peacefully at home with family in Redding, Connecticut, on July 22, 2011. In his early years, he was an accomplished gymnast and track star, an avid downhill snow skier and he enjoyed a good chess game. After completing the 10th grade, he worked as a flour milling apprentice in the Black Forest area of Germany. After 2 years, he went to trade school and became a journeyman flour miller. He fled Nazi Germany in 1936 with the assistance of his employer, into Strasbourg, France. His two brothers and parents also escaped, but a number of other relatives perished in the Holocaust, in concentration camps. In 1937, Fred moved to Manchester, England to work for a year, gaining valuable experience building flour mills and machinery, and gaining a visa to the United States. In 1938, he emigrated to the United States to work in Houston, Texas for the same company that helped him flee Germany. There, at the Houston Milling Company, he was promoted to production manager, at age 23.
It was also in Houston, that Fred met Frances Baldauf Fohs, and they were married in New York City on October 4, 1940. Fred received a degree in Animal Husbandry from Iowa State University in 1948.
In 1949, Fred and Frances moved to Roseburg, Oregon with their three oldest children, and founded a lumber manufacturing operation which they named Sun Studs, Inc. Starting in 1950, Sun Studs purchased its first timber contracts and timberlands to supply the mill. The lands eventually became Lone Rock Timber Company, which, along with its affiliates, continues today as the family business. Mr. Sohn's life work was the development of Sun Studs, Sun Veneer, and Lone Rock Timber. He was known for electronic innovations in wood products manufacturing technology, as well as workforce productivity and retention. Mr. Sohn was also an advocate of intensive, multiple-use forest land management.
Fred Sohn served the Roseburg community through leadership in charitable causes. He volunteered his skills in building projects such as Taft Mountain Ski Area, St. Joseph's Church, the YMCA, Sunrise Enterprises, the original Community Cancer Center, and Mercy Medical Center, where he served as Chair of the Board and was involved in building the original hospital and Linus Oakes Retirement Center on the current site, and more recently, the hospital chapel. He was also active in the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Troop 130, Edelweiss Ski Club, and Douglas Timber Operators. Together, Fred and Frances Sohn also worked to promote the Douglas County Library, the arts, and Jewish causes, particularly Israel as the Jewish homeland.
Fred's family and particularly Frances, was the center of his life. While he and Frances raised the family, he enjoyed cooking and baking, hiking, skiing, scouting, photography and other outdoor activities. In later years he particularly enjoyed overseeing his cattle and sheep ranch operation, taking walks, photographing wildflowers, and spending time with grandchildren.
In 2009, after 60 years in Roseburg, Fred and Frances moved to a retirement home in Redding, Connecticut. He is preceded in death by his parents, Siegfried and Franziska Sohn, and his brothers, Robert and Ernest. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Frances, of Redding, Connecticut; his sisters-in-law, Grete Sohn of New York City, and Lotte Sohn of Los Angeles; and his five sons and spouses, Ted and Pat, of Sleepy Hollow, New York; Howard and Ann, of Kentfield, California; Mark of New York City; Kathy, of Greensboro, North Carolina; Rick and Jacky, of Roseburg, Oregon; and Jerry and Eba, of Santa Monica, California, as well as 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A family funeral service was held at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings on Hudson, New York, on July 25, 2011. Donations may be sent, in Fred Sohn's memory, to the Douglas County Library Foundation, PO Box 1921, Roseburg, OR 97470; or Mercy Foundation, 2700 Stewart Parkway, Roseburg, OR 97471.
It was also in Houston, that Fred met Frances Baldauf Fohs, and they were married in New York City on October 4, 1940. Fred received a degree in Animal Husbandry from Iowa State University in 1948.
In 1949, Fred and Frances moved to Roseburg, Oregon with their three oldest children, and founded a lumber manufacturing operation which they named Sun Studs, Inc. Starting in 1950, Sun Studs purchased its first timber contracts and timberlands to supply the mill. The lands eventually became Lone Rock Timber Company, which, along with its affiliates, continues today as the family business. Mr. Sohn's life work was the development of Sun Studs, Sun Veneer, and Lone Rock Timber. He was known for electronic innovations in wood products manufacturing technology, as well as workforce productivity and retention. Mr. Sohn was also an advocate of intensive, multiple-use forest land management.
Fred Sohn served the Roseburg community through leadership in charitable causes. He volunteered his skills in building projects such as Taft Mountain Ski Area, St. Joseph's Church, the YMCA, Sunrise Enterprises, the original Community Cancer Center, and Mercy Medical Center, where he served as Chair of the Board and was involved in building the original hospital and Linus Oakes Retirement Center on the current site, and more recently, the hospital chapel. He was also active in the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Troop 130, Edelweiss Ski Club, and Douglas Timber Operators. Together, Fred and Frances Sohn also worked to promote the Douglas County Library, the arts, and Jewish causes, particularly Israel as the Jewish homeland.
Fred's family and particularly Frances, was the center of his life. While he and Frances raised the family, he enjoyed cooking and baking, hiking, skiing, scouting, photography and other outdoor activities. In later years he particularly enjoyed overseeing his cattle and sheep ranch operation, taking walks, photographing wildflowers, and spending time with grandchildren.
In 2009, after 60 years in Roseburg, Fred and Frances moved to a retirement home in Redding, Connecticut. He is preceded in death by his parents, Siegfried and Franziska Sohn, and his brothers, Robert and Ernest. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Frances, of Redding, Connecticut; his sisters-in-law, Grete Sohn of New York City, and Lotte Sohn of Los Angeles; and his five sons and spouses, Ted and Pat, of Sleepy Hollow, New York; Howard and Ann, of Kentfield, California; Mark of New York City; Kathy, of Greensboro, North Carolina; Rick and Jacky, of Roseburg, Oregon; and Jerry and Eba, of Santa Monica, California, as well as 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A family funeral service was held at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings on Hudson, New York, on July 25, 2011. Donations may be sent, in Fred Sohn's memory, to the Douglas County Library Foundation, PO Box 1921, Roseburg, OR 97470; or Mercy Foundation, 2700 Stewart Parkway, Roseburg, OR 97471.
