Fred Whitfield passed away at his home in Greenville, S.C. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Linda Learnard Whitfield; six children, Cragin Whitfield (Anne Marie), Douglas Whitfield (Maureen), Stewart Whitfield (Sherry), Katie Whitfield White (David), Liza Whitfield Buczkowski (Michael) and Matthew Whitfield (Tracy); 13 grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.

Fred was born and raised in Suffolk, attended Suffolk High School and graduated from Notre Dame in 1955. He was selected for and attended naval officer candidate school, taking a commission as a naval air intelligence officer, serving in Florida and Cuba. During that time, he met and married Linda Learnard of Washington, D.C. He subsequently finished his Navy service as an admiral’s staff officer at Atlantic Fleet headquarters in Norfolk.

He joined his father’s automobile business in Suffolk, was very active in several civic organizations, and was honored with the Young Man of the Year award by the Suffolk Junior Chamber of Commerce for his fundraising and other community outreach efforts; and was president of the Suffolk Community Chest. After several years in Suffolk, Fred joined Reynolds Metals and embarked upon a successful career in packaging sales and marketing. He spent much of his career in Atlanta, retiring from Reynolds in the 1990s and relocating to Greenville, S.C. One of his more notable achievements while at Reynolds was being part of the team that attained $100 million in sales for Reynolds’ packaging division in 1988.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 12, at 2 p.m. at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody, Ga.