Fred Wallace Saunders Jr., 65, of 4003 Brians Lane, Suffolk, Va., died Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, at Sentara Obici Hospital. He was a native of Suffolk and the son of the late Evelyn Saunders and Fred Wallace Saunders Sr. He was preceded in death by his sister, Victoria Saunders; brother, Quinton N. Saunders; grandson, D’Andre Saunders.

He retired from Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Fred was a member of East End Baptist Church. He was a 1966 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School. He served in the U.S. Army.

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Laura Saunders; two daughters, Veronica Saunders Snead (David), of Virginia Beach, Va., Sonja Saunders, of Chesapeake, Va.; stepdaughter, Natalie Skinner (LeRoy), of Suffolk; one son, Fred Saunders III (Seureda), of Cartersville, Ga.; stepson, Alvin T. Boone Jr. (Elke), of Suffolk; two sisters, Druscilla Saunders Faulk, of Clinton, Md., and Evelyn Gail Saunders, of Suffolk; 16 grandchildren and one great-grandchild; one uncle, Horace Smith, of Suffolk; one aunt, Rosa Gay, of Euclid, Ohio; three nieces, LaTasha Faulk, Lynette Faulk, of Accokeek, Md., and Ashlae Saunders, of Suffolk; mother-in-law, Thelma Rodgers, of Suffolk; a host of cousins and friends.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, at Gethsemane Baptist Church, 1656 Copeland Road, Suffolk, officiated by the Rev. Ernest Simmons Jr. Interment will be in Gethsemane Church Cemetery. Crocker Funeral Home Inc. is handling the arrangements. Condolences may be extended to the family at www.crockerfuneralhome.com.