Born on the island of Guam shortly after the end of the Spanish American War, Freddy Pyne was the first of three boys of Frederick Glover Pyne and Ellen Roosevelt Jones, whose family background included descent from General Philip Schuyler, Governor DeWitt Clinton, and signer of the Declaration of Independence William Floyd, and who gave the boys a sense of duty and service. Fred’s grandfather, Captain Charles March Pyne, served in the 6th Infantry of the Union Army, was wounded in the Second Battle of Bull Run, lost his leg from wounds received, and later went to the seminary and became an Episcopal priest. His great-grandfather was the Reverend Doctor Smith Pyne who became the Episcopal rector of St. Johns Church in Washington, DC during the administration of eight presidents, including Abraham Lincoln.
So a strong family tradition of duty to country and service to man was inculcated into Freddy’s youth and upbringing. He was a Navy junior, since his father was a career Naval officer, and lived in such diverse places as eastern New Mexico; Pensacola, Florida; the Brooklyn Navy yard; Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Washington, DC. In his early youth there were many separations from his father who would have lengthy sea duty on the China Station or in the Mediterranean, but there was always plenty of family with whom to stay, particularly in the New York City area where young Fred spent most of his school years.
With his brothers and friends he was one of the early Boy Scouts belonging to a troop in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the 1st World War, where he earned the Eagle Award presented at the hands of Lord Baden Powell himself, the founder of world Scouting.
Encouraged early to consider a service life, he applied to both West Point and Annapolis but chose the former, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in the summer of 1920 at the age of seventeen, graduating with his class in 1924. Following graduation and before his first assignment as a young Horse Artillery officer of the border, he went to Washington, DC on furlough and there met and swept off her feet Helen Louise Wallace, the only child of a prominent automobile dealer. They were married the following spring in a military ceremony and went to live at his border station, Fort Bliss.
After more than four years of Army life, Freddy decided in November of 1928 to invest his engineering talents with the Aluminum Company of America and was given the New York Sales district, enabling him to live in the old family environment of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where two sons, born on the border, and a daughter, born in Elizabeth, were brought up through their youth. A subsequent transfer to the company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania provided an opportunity for growth and recognition.
Freddy had always been a brilliant mathematician and physicist. When he first entered the aluminum sales field, aircraft, while built of wood or aluminum frames, were covered with fabric or corrugated steel sheets, much like the famous Ford’s trimotor “Tin Goose” aircraft used in Admiral Byrd’s Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Such a craft, of course, was quite heavy which limited its carrying capacity. Freddy figured out that aluminum skins would work even better because the metal could be either riveted or welded and would, of course, be much lighter and aerodynamically smoother. And, he proceeded to show a skeptical industry not only that it would work, but how it would work, and in 1939 wrote the definitive work on aluminum aircraft skins.
As their family grew up, Freddy and his wife Helen would take the children on trips with them, during which Fred would tell endless children’s stories - fascinating stories about pirates, soldiers, and adventurer - making them up as he went along. Traditions of family get-togethers, Christmases, and that old family spirit of duty and service were impressed upon the children.
The day after Pearl Harbor, Freddy, who had always maintained an active Reserve and National Guard status following his resignation from the regular Army, volunteered for active duty and was sent in May 1942 to West Point as professor of mathematics. Here the now teenage children were able to grow and mature with the assistance and guidance in all academic areas, of a kind, loving, and supportive father.
After the war Freddy was reassigned by the aluminum company to the Detroit area office. His sons completed their service obligations and their college educations, and all three of his children moved away, married, and began to produce grandchildren. Not bothered by the “empty nest” syndrome, since the children had all been raised to think and act independently, Freddy and Helen were now able to travel, explore their mutual interests in history, and plan and enjoy family get-togethers which became such an important part of their older years.
Following his eldest son, Freddy purchased a house in Linwood in 1955 in preparation for his future retirement. The aluminum company transferred him to Washington, DC in 1962 which allowed them to develop the place as they chose. Retiring in 1966, they moved up permanently from Washington and spent an additional twelve years living the life of country gentle people with entertaining, family gatherings, and class “do’s” in Washington. His beloved wife Helen died in 1979. Freddy sold the old place and moved to the Episcopal Retirement Community at Fairhaven in Sykesville, Maryland.
Interment was with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife and near his parents. Freddy’s survivors include his son Frederick Wallace Pyne, his daughter Margaret Ellen (Pyne) Patterson, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
If anything epitomizes the life of Frederick Cruger Pyne it could be summed up in three points paralleling the three points of the Scout Oath and the elements of the West Point motto: Duty to God, Duty to Others, Duty to Self.
DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.
Prepared by Frederick Wallace Pyne, Son
So a strong family tradition of duty to country and service to man was inculcated into Freddy’s youth and upbringing. He was a Navy junior, since his father was a career Naval officer, and lived in such diverse places as eastern New Mexico; Pensacola, Florida; the Brooklyn Navy yard; Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Washington, DC. In his early youth there were many separations from his father who would have lengthy sea duty on the China Station or in the Mediterranean, but there was always plenty of family with whom to stay, particularly in the New York City area where young Fred spent most of his school years.
With his brothers and friends he was one of the early Boy Scouts belonging to a troop in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the 1st World War, where he earned the Eagle Award presented at the hands of Lord Baden Powell himself, the founder of world Scouting.
Encouraged early to consider a service life, he applied to both West Point and Annapolis but chose the former, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in the summer of 1920 at the age of seventeen, graduating with his class in 1924. Following graduation and before his first assignment as a young Horse Artillery officer of the border, he went to Washington, DC on furlough and there met and swept off her feet Helen Louise Wallace, the only child of a prominent automobile dealer. They were married the following spring in a military ceremony and went to live at his border station, Fort Bliss.
After more than four years of Army life, Freddy decided in November of 1928 to invest his engineering talents with the Aluminum Company of America and was given the New York Sales district, enabling him to live in the old family environment of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where two sons, born on the border, and a daughter, born in Elizabeth, were brought up through their youth. A subsequent transfer to the company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania provided an opportunity for growth and recognition.
Freddy had always been a brilliant mathematician and physicist. When he first entered the aluminum sales field, aircraft, while built of wood or aluminum frames, were covered with fabric or corrugated steel sheets, much like the famous Ford’s trimotor “Tin Goose” aircraft used in Admiral Byrd’s Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Such a craft, of course, was quite heavy which limited its carrying capacity. Freddy figured out that aluminum skins would work even better because the metal could be either riveted or welded and would, of course, be much lighter and aerodynamically smoother. And, he proceeded to show a skeptical industry not only that it would work, but how it would work, and in 1939 wrote the definitive work on aluminum aircraft skins.
As their family grew up, Freddy and his wife Helen would take the children on trips with them, during which Fred would tell endless children’s stories - fascinating stories about pirates, soldiers, and adventurer - making them up as he went along. Traditions of family get-togethers, Christmases, and that old family spirit of duty and service were impressed upon the children.
The day after Pearl Harbor, Freddy, who had always maintained an active Reserve and National Guard status following his resignation from the regular Army, volunteered for active duty and was sent in May 1942 to West Point as professor of mathematics. Here the now teenage children were able to grow and mature with the assistance and guidance in all academic areas, of a kind, loving, and supportive father.
After the war Freddy was reassigned by the aluminum company to the Detroit area office. His sons completed their service obligations and their college educations, and all three of his children moved away, married, and began to produce grandchildren. Not bothered by the “empty nest” syndrome, since the children had all been raised to think and act independently, Freddy and Helen were now able to travel, explore their mutual interests in history, and plan and enjoy family get-togethers which became such an important part of their older years.
Following his eldest son, Freddy purchased a house in Linwood in 1955 in preparation for his future retirement. The aluminum company transferred him to Washington, DC in 1962 which allowed them to develop the place as they chose. Retiring in 1966, they moved up permanently from Washington and spent an additional twelve years living the life of country gentle people with entertaining, family gatherings, and class “do’s” in Washington. His beloved wife Helen died in 1979. Freddy sold the old place and moved to the Episcopal Retirement Community at Fairhaven in Sykesville, Maryland.
Interment was with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife and near his parents. Freddy’s survivors include his son Frederick Wallace Pyne, his daughter Margaret Ellen (Pyne) Patterson, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
If anything epitomizes the life of Frederick Cruger Pyne it could be summed up in three points paralleling the three points of the Scout Oath and the elements of the West Point motto: Duty to God, Duty to Others, Duty to Self.
DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.
Prepared by Frederick Wallace Pyne, Son
Born on the island of Guam shortly after the end of the Spanish American War, Freddy Pyne was the first of three boys of Frederick Glover Pyne and Ellen Roosevelt Jones, whose family background included descent from General Philip Schuyler, Governor DeWitt Clinton, and signer of the Declaration of Independence William Floyd, and who gave the boys a sense of duty and service. Fred’s grandfather, Captain Charles March Pyne, served in the 6th Infantry of the Union Army, was wounded in the Second Battle of Bull Run, lost his leg from wounds received, and later went to the seminary and became an Episcopal priest. His great-grandfather was the Reverend Doctor Smith Pyne who became the Episcopal rector of St. Johns Church in Washington, DC during the administration of eight presidents, including Abraham Lincoln.
So a strong family tradition of duty to country and service to man was inculcated into Freddy’s youth and upbringing. He was a Navy junior, since his father was a career Naval officer, and lived in such diverse places as eastern New Mexico; Pensacola, Florida; the Brooklyn Navy yard; Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Washington, DC. In his early youth there were many separations from his father who would have lengthy sea duty on the China Station or in the Mediterranean, but there was always plenty of family with whom to stay, particularly in the New York City area where young Fred spent most of his school years.
With his brothers and friends he was one of the early Boy Scouts belonging to a troop in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the 1st World War, where he earned the Eagle Award presented at the hands of Lord Baden Powell himself, the founder of world Scouting.
Encouraged early to consider a service life, he applied to both West Point and Annapolis but chose the former, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in the summer of 1920 at the age of seventeen, graduating with his class in 1924. Following graduation and before his first assignment as a young Horse Artillery officer of the border, he went to Washington, DC on furlough and there met and swept off her feet Helen Louise Wallace, the only child of a prominent automobile dealer. They were married the following spring in a military ceremony and went to live at his border station, Fort Bliss.
After more than four years of Army life, Freddy decided in November of 1928 to invest his engineering talents with the Aluminum Company of America and was given the New York Sales district, enabling him to live in the old family environment of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where two sons, born on the border, and a daughter, born in Elizabeth, were brought up through their youth. A subsequent transfer to the company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania provided an opportunity for growth and recognition.
Freddy had always been a brilliant mathematician and physicist. When he first entered the aluminum sales field, aircraft, while built of wood or aluminum frames, were covered with fabric or corrugated steel sheets, much like the famous Ford’s trimotor “Tin Goose” aircraft used in Admiral Byrd’s Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Such a craft, of course, was quite heavy which limited its carrying capacity. Freddy figured out that aluminum skins would work even better because the metal could be either riveted or welded and would, of course, be much lighter and aerodynamically smoother. And, he proceeded to show a skeptical industry not only that it would work, but how it would work, and in 1939 wrote the definitive work on aluminum aircraft skins.
As their family grew up, Freddy and his wife Helen would take the children on trips with them, during which Fred would tell endless children’s stories - fascinating stories about pirates, soldiers, and adventurer - making them up as he went along. Traditions of family get-togethers, Christmases, and that old family spirit of duty and service were impressed upon the children.
The day after Pearl Harbor, Freddy, who had always maintained an active Reserve and National Guard status following his resignation from the regular Army, volunteered for active duty and was sent in May 1942 to West Point as professor of mathematics. Here the now teenage children were able to grow and mature with the assistance and guidance in all academic areas, of a kind, loving, and supportive father.
After the war Freddy was reassigned by the aluminum company to the Detroit area office. His sons completed their service obligations and their college educations, and all three of his children moved away, married, and began to produce grandchildren. Not bothered by the “empty nest” syndrome, since the children had all been raised to think and act independently, Freddy and Helen were now able to travel, explore their mutual interests in history, and plan and enjoy family get-togethers which became such an important part of their older years.
Following his eldest son, Freddy purchased a house in Linwood in 1955 in preparation for his future retirement. The aluminum company transferred him to Washington, DC in 1962 which allowed them to develop the place as they chose. Retiring in 1966, they moved up permanently from Washington and spent an additional twelve years living the life of country gentle people with entertaining, family gatherings, and class “do’s” in Washington. His beloved wife Helen died in 1979. Freddy sold the old place and moved to the Episcopal Retirement Community at Fairhaven in Sykesville, Maryland.
Interment was with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife and near his parents. Freddy’s survivors include his son Frederick Wallace Pyne, his daughter Margaret Ellen (Pyne) Patterson, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
If anything epitomizes the life of Frederick Cruger Pyne it could be summed up in three points paralleling the three points of the Scout Oath and the elements of the West Point motto: Duty to God, Duty to Others, Duty to Self.
DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.
Prepared by Frederick Wallace Pyne, Son
So a strong family tradition of duty to country and service to man was inculcated into Freddy’s youth and upbringing. He was a Navy junior, since his father was a career Naval officer, and lived in such diverse places as eastern New Mexico; Pensacola, Florida; the Brooklyn Navy yard; Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Washington, DC. In his early youth there were many separations from his father who would have lengthy sea duty on the China Station or in the Mediterranean, but there was always plenty of family with whom to stay, particularly in the New York City area where young Fred spent most of his school years.
With his brothers and friends he was one of the early Boy Scouts belonging to a troop in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the 1st World War, where he earned the Eagle Award presented at the hands of Lord Baden Powell himself, the founder of world Scouting.
Encouraged early to consider a service life, he applied to both West Point and Annapolis but chose the former, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in the summer of 1920 at the age of seventeen, graduating with his class in 1924. Following graduation and before his first assignment as a young Horse Artillery officer of the border, he went to Washington, DC on furlough and there met and swept off her feet Helen Louise Wallace, the only child of a prominent automobile dealer. They were married the following spring in a military ceremony and went to live at his border station, Fort Bliss.
After more than four years of Army life, Freddy decided in November of 1928 to invest his engineering talents with the Aluminum Company of America and was given the New York Sales district, enabling him to live in the old family environment of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where two sons, born on the border, and a daughter, born in Elizabeth, were brought up through their youth. A subsequent transfer to the company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania provided an opportunity for growth and recognition.
Freddy had always been a brilliant mathematician and physicist. When he first entered the aluminum sales field, aircraft, while built of wood or aluminum frames, were covered with fabric or corrugated steel sheets, much like the famous Ford’s trimotor “Tin Goose” aircraft used in Admiral Byrd’s Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Such a craft, of course, was quite heavy which limited its carrying capacity. Freddy figured out that aluminum skins would work even better because the metal could be either riveted or welded and would, of course, be much lighter and aerodynamically smoother. And, he proceeded to show a skeptical industry not only that it would work, but how it would work, and in 1939 wrote the definitive work on aluminum aircraft skins.
As their family grew up, Freddy and his wife Helen would take the children on trips with them, during which Fred would tell endless children’s stories - fascinating stories about pirates, soldiers, and adventurer - making them up as he went along. Traditions of family get-togethers, Christmases, and that old family spirit of duty and service were impressed upon the children.
The day after Pearl Harbor, Freddy, who had always maintained an active Reserve and National Guard status following his resignation from the regular Army, volunteered for active duty and was sent in May 1942 to West Point as professor of mathematics. Here the now teenage children were able to grow and mature with the assistance and guidance in all academic areas, of a kind, loving, and supportive father.
After the war Freddy was reassigned by the aluminum company to the Detroit area office. His sons completed their service obligations and their college educations, and all three of his children moved away, married, and began to produce grandchildren. Not bothered by the “empty nest” syndrome, since the children had all been raised to think and act independently, Freddy and Helen were now able to travel, explore their mutual interests in history, and plan and enjoy family get-togethers which became such an important part of their older years.
Following his eldest son, Freddy purchased a house in Linwood in 1955 in preparation for his future retirement. The aluminum company transferred him to Washington, DC in 1962 which allowed them to develop the place as they chose. Retiring in 1966, they moved up permanently from Washington and spent an additional twelve years living the life of country gentle people with entertaining, family gatherings, and class “do’s” in Washington. His beloved wife Helen died in 1979. Freddy sold the old place and moved to the Episcopal Retirement Community at Fairhaven in Sykesville, Maryland.
Interment was with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife and near his parents. Freddy’s survivors include his son Frederick Wallace Pyne, his daughter Margaret Ellen (Pyne) Patterson, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
If anything epitomizes the life of Frederick Cruger Pyne it could be summed up in three points paralleling the three points of the Scout Oath and the elements of the West Point motto: Duty to God, Duty to Others, Duty to Self.
DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.
Prepared by Frederick Wallace Pyne, Son
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