Fred Washburn

Fred William Washburn, 79, of Carterville, passed away Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at Riggin-Pillatsch & Burke Funeral Home in Carterville. Burial with military rites will be in North Oakwood Cemetery in Carterville. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, at the funeral home. Please wear your favorite fishing shirt, hat or Cardinals shirt. He would have loved that.

The preferred form of remembrance is memorial contributions made to the NFLCC (National Fishing Lure Collectors Club) Youth Group or to the Friends of Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge-Special Olympics Activities.

Fred was born November 27, 1942, in Carbondale, to Howard O. and Inez Catherine (Mann) Washburn. He married Donna Edwards in 1964 in Carterville.

He is survived by his wife, Donna “Cookie” Washburn; daughter, Kendra (Ed Yocum); grandchildren, Katie Bug and Will “Spike” Yocum; his best friend and fishing buddy, Bob Bush; good friend/mechanic/brothers-in-law, Bud (Mickey) Edwards, Joe (Mary) Edwards, and Scott (Stephanie) Edwards; aunt, Katie Tackett; plus several nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his dog, Scrappy.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents; paternal grandparents, O.L. and Ila Washburn; maternal grandparents, Willie and Luvinnea Mann; great aunt, Eileene Washburn; and his in-laws, William “Byo” and Audrey Edwards.

Fred attended SIU grade school in Woody Hall. He also attended University High on campus.  He grew up on a family farm (where Grassy Lake is now) and in Carbondale. Even at 8 years old, he was an avid and knowledgeable collector of arrow heads and fishing lures and reels. He has many lures from the 1800's with thousands of lures overall, which he has spent years categorizing and displaying.

He started off as a plumber. Then he was drafted. He served in the Army at Ft. Hood (“Hell On Wheels") for over 20 years including Reserves in the 825th Replacement Detachment, then to Centralia as a 1st Sgt. During this time, he made many dark overseas trips.

Following his time in the Army, Fred went to work for the SIUC Police Department. He was sent to the FBI training academy at Quantico. At that time SIU had the 3rd largest number of 3rd world country students. There was a lot of unrest during this time, and Fred was on the hostage team as well as the sharp shooting team. He was awarded various accommodations and certifications.

Fred was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing.  He won the BCA in 1982.  When he started on the tournament trail, they didn't stay in luxury hotels, those guys slept in their trucks in the parking lot-that’s true dedication. His passion for fishing lead him into taxidermy, he had quite a talent for it too, and people would send fish from all over the country and Canada. In 1982, because he couldn't find the lure he wanted, Fred created one. People learned quickly of this new lure and started buying them out of his tackle box. Thus, he started Cottonmouth Lures.

Fred was a member of NFLCC (National Fishing Lure Collectors Club). He was an enthusiastic Cardinals Fan, member of the Herrin American Legion Post, Vietnam Era Veteran, avid gun collector, and mechanic.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Fred Washburn, please visit our floral store.