Fred McLain Hamlin

Fred McLain Hamlin, age 85, a resident of Albuquerque, NM died March 22, 2015 from acute respiratory disease. He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann of Albuquerque; children, David Hamlin of Edmond, OK, Jane Kellerman and husband, Bill, Nancy Sullivan and husband, Greg of Albuquerque; step-children, Michelle Castaneda of Santa Fe, NM, Stephen Edens of CanCun, Mexico and Shirley Scholz of Albuquerque; brother, Dr. W.T. Hamlin and Jan of Dallas, TX; niece, Kimberly Rostamo and husband, Robert and their two sons, Luke and Logan. Grandchildren are Rachel Hamlin of Tartu, Estonia, Heather Solenski and husband, Patrick. Step-grandchildren are Misty Reed, Nick Scholz, Zacery Morgan and Demetria Frangos. Fred had one great-grandchild and four step-great-grandchildren. Fred attended school in Crane, New Mexico then transferred to Bridgton Academy in North Bridgeton, Maine. It was in Maine he learned the lumber business. Lumber was Fred’s calling. He worked for over twenty years for Duke City Lumber Company until it closed in the early 90’s. His most enjoyable years with Duke City were as sales manager. Several of the salesmen credited Fred with their own successes. This experience gave him an opportunity to work with individual salesmen teaching them how to sell lumber. He loved to teach. “That was Fred’s calling, to teach others,” said Mickey Walker, one of the salesmen. “He gave us invaluable info to help us get started in the lumber business.” After Duke City closed, he worked for Bates Lumber Company and Plateau Lumber Company. Fred was never one to be idle. After he retired from the lumber business, he began restoring and building maple, butcher block top workbenches. He took pride in his work and made each one look like new. He built over 500 workbenches that he sold. He enjoyed talking to each one of his customers. When Fred’s health no longer allowed him to do the heavy work of building workbenches, he found another outlet for his work ethic. Being a natural born salesman, eBay became his next adventure. He sold hundreds of items in over ten years in the eBay business world. Fred and Jo Ann traveled to many places. Australia, Alaska and France were some of their favorites. But, none of these places brought as much enjoyment as Las Vegas, NV. where they went numerous times. Sports was another passion of Fred’s, especially basketball. After he became ill, watching football, golf and basketball on TV were more important to him than ever. When Fred and Jo Ann built their dream home, Fred spent days selling lumber and nights paneling the home. As always, he took great pride in his workmanship. If selling was Fred’s passion, as a young man, hunting was his love. He traveled as far as British Columbia to hunt, but in his later years, he admitted that seeing all the beautiful country was more important than hunting an animal. Fred Hamlin was strong in his beliefs and determination. All who knew him will miss the twinkle in his eyes when he frequently expressed a Fredism such as “It’ll never show on a running horse.” Fred was a man like no other man and will be greatly missed by all who loved him including his two beloved dachshunds, Sassy and Danny. Services were private. Donations in Fred’s name may be made to the Animal Humane Society of Albuquerque. FRENCH – Wyoming 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE (505) 823-9400