Fred Louis Pulice

April 14, 1934 - April 11, 2020

Fred Louis Pulice died peacefully on April 11, 2020, in Redding, California. He was 85. Born on April 14, 1934 in Los Angeles, California, he was the only child of Louis Pulice and Ruth Linza. He married Elizabeth Ann Spargo on June 10, 1957, in San Gabriel, California. Fred was a loving and affectionate husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He loved his family, first and foremost his wife, children and grandchildren. He graduated from Montebello High School in 1953, where he played football and was the school photographer. Fred served in the United States Army, in Darmstadt, Germany from 1956 – 1958 in the 95th Engineer Battalion, where he built bridges and served as the company mechanic. He achieved the rank of Specialist E-4. In 1959, he began working for his stepfather and uncle’s automotive repair business (Bing’s Union Pacific Garage) in East Los Angeles. Both men retired in the late 1960s, and Fred took over ownership of the garage. Fred and Elizabeth raised a family of three children in Orange County, California, In 1978 he moved the family, and business, to Redding. Fred was well known in Redding as the owner of “Bing’s Automotive.” He first opened Bing’s in a gas station on Eureka Way, near the First Baptist Church. in 1981 Bing’s moved to California and Shasta Streets, where it remained until 2015. Fred was a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. He held many leadership and teaching positions over the years, including scout master and primary teacher. His calling as ward clerk was truly his favorite, as he served in that position for 22 years. Fred loved the outdoors. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. He traveled twice to Uruguay for dove hunts, enjoyed an annual deer hunting trip to Colorado, and journeyed on safari in Africa. One year, Fred scored 196-2/8 points, and earned a Gold Award from the Safari Club International, when he bagged a Colorado Rocky Mountain 4-point Mule Deer. In his youth, Fred was an avid scuba diver, saving his money to buy one of the first aqualungs in the late 1940s. His favorite scuba haunts were Mazatlan, La Paz and Catalina Island with the scuba club, “Davey Jones Raiders.” In the `60s, he bought and rode an Indian motorcycle, once owned by Clark Gable. Around that same time, Fred bought his first surfboard out of a garage start-up in Dana Point, California. Hobart “Hobie” Alter sold it to him for $80. Fred loved old jeeps, probably because he could always fix them. He would often get a permit to go cut his own wood for the woodburning stove. He was a good listener, and always appreciated a funny joke. Every year he’d harvest olives from nearby trees and cure them with his secret concoction. His family looked forward to his muffuletta (olive spread) every year. He and Elizabeth would brave the ocean off Fort Bragg every year to go abalone rock picking with friends. He was an avid reader, an expert on all things WWII and airplanes. Fred loved dogs. He raised black Labradors and trained them as hunting dogs. His most loyal pup was a lab named Purple. Fred is survived by his wife Elizabeth, children: Ken (Karen) Pulice, David (Jennifer) Pulice, Ann (Warren) Owens, grandchildren Aaron, Daniel, Kaeli, Sydney, Madison, Kristian, Whitney and Cameron. Funeral services will be announced at a later date. Fred will be interred at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, Thursday, April 23rd.