Fred Collins Stalder

October 12, 1920 - June 30, 2020

SAN DIEGO —

Fred Collins Stalder passed away peacefully at home on June 30, 2020. He was 99. Prior to the onset of dementia, which plagued him in the last five years of his life, Fred was active in San Diego community affairs and the Savings & Loan business.

Fred was born in Coalgate, Oklahoma, on October 12, 1920. His mother, Lavinia, was a music teacher, and his father, Fred, owned the local mill. Growing up in a small town during the depression impressed upon young Fred the necessity to plan and prepare for the future. He attended Oklahoma University, where he worked his way through school, and bought his first life insurance policy so that should he die, his parents would have enough money for a funeral and burial. Amazing foresight for a young man, and that mindset remained with him throughout his life.

He left University in 1941 to join the Army Air Corps and served as a pilot at air bases in California until the end of WWII. He developed a great love of San Diego and settled there for good in 1945. He raised a family in Pt. Loma, and subsequently moved to La Jolla in 1969.

Fred started working at Central Federal Savings in 1948 and became its President in 1963.

For the next 20 years, the company grew and prospered until his retirement in 1985. His peers described Fred as a leader and a gentleman, but he was simply “Dad” to his children, and “Uncle Fred” to his nieces and nephew. He was a soft-spoken, hardworking, devoted family man and an example of how to live a meaningful life; an honest life of good character and dignity.

His many business and civic activities include: President, Scripps Memorial Hospital Foundation, United Way and Combo; Elder, Pt. Loma Presbyterian Church; Director, SDG&E, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Opera Guild, SD Opera Association; Trustee, San Diego Museum of Art; President and CEO, Central Federal Savings and Loan; Director, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; Trustee, The Savings & Loan Foundation, Washington DC; and Chairman,

The Natl Alliance of Businessmen, (San Diego and Imperial Counties).

Fred is predeceased by his wife, Christine Cole Stalder. He is survived by and will be deeply missed by his children, Claudia Stalder Ferrara, Barbara Stalder Green and Steven Austin Stalder, and step-children, Loren Stone and Jamie Ibarra, nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. The family wishes to express love and appreciation to Irma Sweeney and Sonia Mccamey, who lovingly cared for our Dad in his home for the last five years of his life.

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