Obituary for Fred Scyocurka
Frederick A. Scyocurka passed away on July 23, 2020 at the age of 90. Born in Indian Orchard, Fred was the youngest child of Anthony and Anastasia Scyocurka. He was predeceased by his parents and his siblings: Steve Scyocurka, Michael Scyocurka, Larry Scyocurka, Helen Fitzgerald, Mary Kalesnik, Kay Datzuk, and Anne Gray. Fred is survived by his wife Jacqueline Boucher Scyocurka, to whom he was married for 65 years. He was the devoted and proud father of their six children: Mark (Evelyn) Scyocurka, Michael (Carolyn) Scyocurka, Michelle (John) Roberts, Todd (Blake) Scyocurka, Christopher (Paige) Scyocurka, and Gregory (Anne) Scyocurka. He and Jackie were blessed to have seventeen grandchildren: Nicholas, Sydney, Sophia, Joshua, Lauren, Benjamin, Caroline, Laura, Sarah, Emily, Taylor, Chandler, Alexander, Nathan, Jillian, Daniel, and Kathryne; as well as two great grandsons, Julian and Aiden. Fred was a U. S. Naval veteran. After the Navy he enrolled at American International College, where he excelled in both the classroom and on the football field. He received his undergraduate degree from AIC and went on to earn a master’s degree from Springfield College. Fred had a long and meaningful career teaching history and social studies at Agawam High School and Chestnut Middle School in Springfield. In addition to teaching, Fred also distinguished himself as both a wrestling coach at Chestnut Middle School and Technical High School and as a defensive line coach at American International College. Referred to as the “father of western Mass. wrestling” as he was being inducted into the Mass. Chapter of the U. S. Wrestling Hall of Fame, Fred was a great coach, an inspiring motivator, and “second father” to thousands of athletes. He valued every athlete regardless of ability and taught the value of excellence, determination, and pride in sport, regardless of a competition’s outcome. His college football players at AIC learned how to execute. As a former player noted “We respected him so much, we would run through a wall if he asked us to.” Another said, “He was a perfectionist; he expected us to do things the same way every time.” One testament to Fred’s coaching abilities was that, in preparation for State or New England tournaments, qualifying wrestlers from other programs would attend Fred’s practices to best prepare them for the competitions. Over the last twenty years, Fred has been inducted into several halls of fame, including the U. S. Wrestling and the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame. But his talents were not limited to the football and wrestling arenas. He was also a gifted artist. His favorite medium was watercolor, and his home and the homes of his family and friends are evidence of this by the number of his paintings hanging on their walls. Fred was accomplished in many ways, but the greatest thing about him was that he always remained a humble, kind, generous, and thoughtful man. He was greatly admired, greatly respected, and deeply loved. Funeral services for Fred will be held on Wednesday July 29, 2020. A public walk through visitation will be held from 9:00-11:00am at the Ludlow Funeral Home, adhering to no contact, social distancing and PPE. Due to ongoing restrictions, his church services and burial will be held privately by his family. In lieu of flowers please make donations in his memory to: St. Jude Children's Hospital.
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