Frederick Arthur Filios passed away peacefully Friday, August 7, 2020, with family by his side. He was born Oct. 30, 1918, in Westfield, to Teresa (Pagani) and Salvatore Filios (recent immigrants from Italy). Fred grew up in Westfield, graduating from Westfield High School in 1936. In his teen years he was a member of the 4-H club. He raised chickens and received many blue ribbons.

After high school, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, working in the National Forests for the Federal Government during the Great Depression.  Afterwards, to save for college he took jobs with Columbia Bicycle and Oleksak Lumber Co where he worked as a licensed boiler fireman. He was part of the first generation of his family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from Stockbridge School of Agriculture (now UMass) in June 1942. Fred enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, formally entering after graduation. He was a radio operator for air transport command, stationed in Casablanca, Africa flying as a crew member primarily on C-47’s, and occasionally on B-17s.  In 1945 he was sent to California to transport supplies in the Pacific. He saw duty in both theatres of WWII.

Returning from the war, he was employed as a Soil Scientist for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service assigned to the Worcester, MA area. That is where he met his future wife, Norma Dick, at a square dance. They were married in June of 1952. They chose to settle in Amherst, MA, where they raised 8 children. Fred was a volunteer with the Boy Scouts, Knights of Columbus, an active parishioner at St. Brigid’s Church, choir member and an elected town meeting member.  In 1965, Fred accepted a job opportunity with International Resources and Geotechnics. This brought Fred, and eventually his family, to Panama where he mapped soils and taught Panamanian College students soil mapping. They returned to Amherst after a few years when they discovered their youngest child, Laurie, was profoundly deaf.

Rather than travel away from the family, Fred decided to use his Fireman’s license working at Amherst College. This led to a career as a steam engineer at the University of Massachusetts.  He retired from the University in 1982. This once again set him on a new path with his own company, Filios Enterprises Inc., doing percolation tests, septic system designs, and wetlands mapping until 1996.

In October of 2018 at his 100^th birthday party Fred was presented with the Boston Post Gold-Headed Cane for Amherst, signifying his status as the oldest living citizen of Amherst.

He will be deeply missed by his 8 children; Kathryn Finn of Amherst, Walter of Gulfport, Mississippi, Paul and wife Krys of Alexandria, Virginia, Teresa Korpita and husband John of Sunderland, William and wife Larissa of Malden, Marita Magnant and husband Gary of Topsfield, Elizabeth Tyler and husband William of Hadley, and Laurie Blanchard and husband Daniel of Southborough; his 20 grandchildren, Michael, Danette, Bridget, Socorro, and Teresa, children of Kathryn; Kimberly, Jason, Sarah, Paula, and Patrick, children of Paul; Ksusha and Marina, children of Teresa; Salvatore, son of William; Ross, Sage, and Grace, children of Marita; John and Kathryn, children of Elizabeth; and Georgieanna and Annabel, children of Laurie; and four great-grandchildren, Emili, Sophia, Jonathan, and Leonardo, from the Finn family; his sister Angela Haverly of Denville, New Jersey (age 106),  sister-in-law Marita Stratton of Lee (age 102), sister-in-law Judy Dick of Bradenton, Florida; and sister-in-law Marilyn Dick of Austin, Texas. He was predeceased by his wife Norma, brothers Dante, Luigi, Carlo, John, sisters Lena Hart, Ines Angell, and son-in-law John Michael Finn.

A private mass and burial will be held. A memorial service to be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests memorial donations to St. Brigid’s Church, 122 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01004, or to Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, 45 Round Hill Road, Northampton, MA 01060, www.ClarkeSchools.org.