Beloved husband and father Fred Elmer Parady III passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, June 16, 2024. He was born on July 19, 1955 on Loring Air Force Base in Aroostook County, Maine to Fred Parady Jr. and Jeannine Marie Parady. He spent his childhood living with his parents and two sisters on air force bases in the U.S. and overseas, before graduating as student body president and valedictorian at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington.
Fred was a lover of life with a voracious appetite for knowledge and a photographic memory: from the Latin names of plants to the biographical details of everyone he met. He graduated from the University of Idaho in 1978 with a B.S. in Range Resources before going on to receive an M.S. Land Rehabilitation from Montana State University in 1981. Fred launched a highly successful career in mineland reclamation and mine health and safety that took him from Butte, Montana to Wyoming, where his four daughters were born. While in Rock Springs, Wyoming Fred began his political career, serving in the Wyoming State Legislature. He married Dr. Lisa Skiles Parady (a Laramie native) and they built a strong family and political life together. Fred eventually served as the Speaker of the House and later as the Chair of the Wyoming Republican State Party. In these roles, he imagined and executed policies that would leave lasting impact on the lives of Wyomingites. Twenty years later, the legacy of his efforts remains strong.
In 2007, Fred and Lisa moved north to Utqiaġvik, Alaska, shortly thereafter their daughter Kaycee was born. Fred, Lisa, and Kaycee eventually made Juneau, Alaska their adopted hometown. Fred thrived living at the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier. He served as Alaska’s Deputy Commissioner of Commerce for several years, absorbing vast amounts of knowledge about Alaska’s communities, industries, and ecosystems. Fred delighted in supporting Lisa and Kaycee’s love of the outdoors and animals as well as Kaycee’s many academic and extracurricular activities. He was a devoted father who could never say “no” to his daughters’ request for another pet or adventure. In a true act of love, he recently even attended a Taylor Swift concert with Kaycee.
At the time of his death, Fred was the Executive Vice President of Huna Totem Corporation. Through this and other positions he held in Alaska, Fred made an undeniable difference in the state. He loved his work, but most of all he loved his family. Fred adored his wife and daughters and told everyone he met about them: from coworkers to taxi drivers. He was wonderfully emotionally expressive and known to cry at the drop of a hat when it came to his love for his family.
Fred is survived by his loving wife Lisa Skiles Parady; daughters Sarah (Chris Montville), Katelyn (Peter O’Dowd), Annalise, and Kaycee Parady; grandchildren Max and Marissa (Parady O’Dowd) and Imogen and Oscar (Montville); sisters Kathie Heilsberg and Nancy (Darryl) Marcus; sister-in-law Barb Robinson (Mark Miller) and brother-in-law Dave (Kerri) Phillips; and many nieces, nephews, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, mother- and father- in-law Mason and Sharlene Skiles, and his brother-in-law Robert Heilsberg.
Fred’s celebration of life will be Sunday, June 23, 2024 at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church in Juneau at 2 p.m. A celebration in Wyoming will follow. In lieu of flowers the family welcomes donations made in Fred’s memory to the Juneau Animal Rescue or any organization that honors Fred’s lasting legacy.
