Obituary of Frederick L. Carothers

Frederick L. Carothers of State College, Pennsylvania passed away peacefully at The Village of Penn State Retirement Community on February 9, 2020. Born July 6, 1931, in Somerset, "Fred" was the son of Philip Carothers Sr., a civil engineer and Ruth Francis Goodwin, a Registered Nurse, and the younger brother of Philip Carothers Jr. He grew up in rural Pennsylvania on the family homestead at a crossroads called Cedar Springs in Clinton County. Carothers graduated from Lock Haven High School, class of 1949. He attended Penn State University under a U.S. Navy full scholarship. He graduated with a degree in Architecture and a regular Navy line commission in 1954. He met Ann Hutchison, an Education student, on a blind date. The two were married on January 28, 1956. Carothers was on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1958 and on ready reserve until 1967. While on active duty, he served as Chief Engineer on a Destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet. After naval service, he opened his own architectural practice in Lock Haven, PA—the first architectural office in Clinton County. During his 14-year tenure in Lock Haven, Carothers spearheaded the acquisition of funding for and designed housing for senior citizens and low-income families. He also designed and supervised the construction of Clinton County's three emergency housing sites during the Hurricane Agnes flood disaster that hit the Susquehanna Valley in 1972. Shortly afterward, he designed the first series of flood resistant dwellings for the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs and was the consulting architect to the Branford and Cameron County Housing Authorities. Outside of government contract work, Carothers' practice was devoted to private commercial and public use structures including the Salvation Army Citadel, library additions, The Hope Hose Fire Station, The Lock Haven Moose Club, several branch banks, the county area swimming complex and numerous other projects. Additionally, Carothers served as an arbitrator for The American Arbitration Association, on the boards for the YMCA, the Clinton County Industrial Development Fund, Citizen Advisory Committees and was Treasurer, Vice President and President of the Lock Haven Rotary Club. In 1975, Carothers entered U.S. government service in Washington D.C. First he worked as a design/construction claims consultant and government expert witness. Later he worked as an executive architect for the General Services Administration, with his most significant projects being the Federal Courthouses in Alexandria, VA and Prince George's County, MD. He also worked in the Middle East for ten years under the U.S. State Department JECOR (Joint Economic Commission of Riyadh). Carothers served as a design and construction coordinator for vocational and technical schools located throughout the Kingdom. Later, he developed the national procedures for the acquisition and construction of hospital and medical centers for the Saudi Ministry of Health. Upon completion of his term in Saudi Arabia, Fred took a position as Executive Architect in Washington D.C. where he managed the financing, design and construction of two major buildings: The U.S. District Courthouses in Alexandria, VA and Beltsville, MD. In 1992 Carothers retired to Big Run, PA (Ann's hometown) where they restored a grand Victorian home over a 22-year period. They chose the Village of Penn State to top off their retirement years. Frederick Carothers and his surviving wife of 64 years Ann Hutchison Carothers had four children: Thomas Carothers (d. 2001), Nancy Carothers Buscemi (Phil), John Carothers (Susan) and Mary Carothers (Andy Johnson) and four grandchildren Alex Buscemi, Stephen Buscemi, Emily Carothers and Mathew Carothers. He loved and was loved dearly by his family and will be forever missed. A Celebration of Life event will be held at the Community Room at the Village of Penn State with Spiritual Director Jackie Naginey Hook on March, 14, 2020 from 2:00 pm -4:00 pm. A graveside memorial will be held at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Mill Hall, Pa. on July 11, 2020 with Pastor Becky McGee officiating at 11:00 am and a reception will follow at Brush Mountain Lodge in Spring Mills, Pa. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to be made to Center County PAWS, 1402 Trout Rd, State College, PA 16801 Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.