Fred W. Schramm III

Fred W. Schramm, 89, of Moravia, New York, passed away on Saturday, June 20th, 2026, at Cayuga Medical Center after a prolonged battle with illnesses. Fred was the son of Fred W. Schramm Jr. and Eleanor Meinung Schramm of Flushing, NY. Fred was a former resident of Ithaca, NY, and Harker's Island, NC. His father owned an auto service center on Long Island, which led to Fred's unique passion for automobiles through his early memories with his father. Fred also spent several summers in Winston-Salem, NC, where his mother was born, and there Fred was introduced to the Moravian faith through his mother and her family.

Once Fred was old enough, he spent most of his weekends and several summers working for his father, learning all he could about fixing different vehicles, which increased his passion for automobiles and how they work. After graduating from Bayside High School on Long Island in 1955, Fred continued his education by attending the State University of New York at Oswego, as well as the General Motors Institute. It was after this that Fred used his knowledge gained to build high-performance engines for customers who raced those vehicles at local tracks, where Fred spent a lot of his free time.

After his father sold the auto business, Fred took his skills and worked on repairing and installing air conditioning systems. In 1963, Fred joined the Islip Long Island Fire Company, where he joined the Fire Department's racing team, where his skills and knowledge increased the team's competitiveness as well as enhanced the team's morale and knowledge base in working on high-performance systems.

In 1969, Fred applied for and accepted a position with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. After being assigned to the Great South Bay area that included an area 12 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, it was then that Fred realized his true calling. His passion for the outdoors, love of operating his 26-foot patrol boat, enforcing the state Fish and Wildlife Regulations, and the pursuit of those who wished to break those rules led to the start of his storied career. Fred would always say that night patrols looking for those wishing to take illegal shellfish from uncertified areas were his favorite, stating that "At 3 am there was no one out other than Cops and Robbers."

In 1972, while working as a NYS DEC officer, Fred took the very first NYS Emergency Medical Technician course and subsequently spent the next few years as part of the Islip Fire Department's Rescue Squad. During his time with the Islip Fire Department, Fred was nominated for and elected as a Captain for the squad and spent several years in that position.

In 1975, Fred accepted a transfer to an Upstate vacancy in the Finger Lakes Region and settled in Ithaca, NY. It was there that Fred fell in love with the change of seasons as well as the differences in the duties he was performing in his new area of patrol. In 1977, Fred was promoted to Lieutenant and was assigned to the State's Divisional Headquarters in Albany, NY. While there, Fred took the Advanced EMT Course so that he could use those skills to train and mentor new recruits at the academy as well as active officers in the State's 40-hour First Responder's program at the NYS Police Academy.

Also, during his tenure in Albany, Fred was elected as the President of the NYSDEC Officers Police Benevolent Association, where he fought for and secured a 3-year contract for his fellow officers. After his time in Albany came to a close, Fred returned to Ithaca and was assigned to a security detail for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. He was assigned the post for the Bobsled Run and often spoke about his time on this assignment, relishing the fact that he met so many wonderful and interesting people from across the world, as well as his ride down the Bobsled Track with the West German Bobsled Team.

Fred's storied career with the NYS DEC spanned 23 years, in which he received three lifesaving awards, while also receiving one for preventing a deadly injury to one of his former partners and dear friend, Fred Bert Schwartz (deceased). Fred was an avid hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. He enjoyed teaching his skills at hunter's safety courses as well as teaching his two sons, Robert and William, and his stepson, Matthew, the joys of being in the outdoors in the pursuit of deer, turkeys, waterfowl, pheasants, as well as fishing the lakes in the area around Ithaca, NY, and beyond.

Fred retired after 23 years in 1992, and in October of that year moved to Harker's Island, NC, with his then wife, MaryEllen. Though retired, Fred's love of his former profession and the outdoors led him to take a position at the State Port of North Carolina in Morehead City as a Port Police Officer. He spent more than three years doing that before fully retiring. However, while working at the Port, Fred met a local and East Coast decoy carving legend, David Lawrence, where Fred got interested in helping with the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild, providing security for the annual Core Sound Decoy Festival, and meeting some of the best decoy carvers in the country.

Fred's sense of community and service never left him, and over the next several years he served his love of Harker's Island and his friends by joining the Harker's Island Fire and Rescue Department. While there, Fred obtained the rank of Assistant Chief, Chief, while also serving as their Board of Directors, Board Chairman, and Board Member. In those postings, Fred was instrumental in the construction of a new three-bay project that greatly enhanced the existing structure as well as acquiring state-of-the-art equipment and new fire engines, enhancing Harker's Island's capabilities to respond to emergencies.

Fred loved speed and was an immense fan of NASCAR and the power and technology that allowed those cars to do what they did. Fred visited several racetracks over the years and watched as many races as he could on Sundays. One experience he remembered fondly was getting to attend the Richard Petty Experience in Orlando, Florida, where Fred was able to drive one of the machines he so greatly admired, saying, "I was finally able to drive that fast legally."

Fred's passion for the water, fishing, and living his life in the elements that he loved led him to another dream he had. That dream was to build a boat the way he wanted it to be. Having made friends with local boat building legends, the Lewis brothers of Harker's Island, Fred created, designed, and helped the Lewis brothers build his dream boat, a 26-foot center console, in-board driven boat, which he fondly named the GUNRUNNER. Fred spent his following years with family and friends, taking them to his favorite spots, trips to the "CAPE" with his kids and grandkids, fishing with friends and family alike, or enjoying his time meeting new boaters to the area.

Fred often said he was fortunate to have made so many friends and to have met so many people on Harker's Island, where he felt at peace and at home. Fred was immensely proud of his public service and what he was able to give back to the communities he loved and served. Fred is now at peace and is resting with his beloved beagles, Jo-Jo, Mr. Pete, and his Labradors, Bess, Bonnie, Emma, and Kaylee, who brought him great joy and companionship during his life.

Fred is survived by his sister, Jeanne (Michael) Sanscharowski of Bloomington, IL; sons William P. Schramm of Gloucester, VA, Robert F. (Kimberla) Schramm of Moravia, NY; stepson Matthew Carmon of Hubert, NC; granddaughters Lynnsey Burrow (Ben) of O'Fallon, IL, Nicole Aliberte of Boiceville, NY, Katelyn Lutes (Justin) of Locke, NY; step-granddaughter Samantha M. Carmon of Cortland, NY; grandsons Benjamin Schramm (Kayla) of Gloucester, VA, Andrew Schramm (Kathleen) of Gloucester, VA; several great-grandchildren; nieces Lisa McIntire (Danny) of Mechanicsburg, PA, Tina Wetzel (Peter) of Bloomington, IL; several grandnieces.