Dr. Frederick J. Gregory ’45

Dr. Frederick J. Gregory ’45 died March 19, 2012, in Belfast. He was born on July 13, 1924, in Caribou. He was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He graduated from McGill University with a doctorate of medicine and surgical medicine in 1948, interned in surgery at Hartford General Hospital and completed his surgical residency at Worcester City Hospital in Massachusetts. He joined the Naval Reserve in 1946 and the Navy in 1951 and traveled as ship’s surgeon and chaplain on Capt. Richard Byrd’s second expedition to Antarctica aboard the icebreaker USS Edisto. A subsequent tour sent him to the Arctic in 1955, making him one of few people to travel to both poles. In 1956 he returned to Caribou to practice at Cary Memorial Hospital, which his father helped to found. He accepted fresh vegetables or eggs for payment, made house calls, and rounded on his patients every Christmas morning. In the 1970s, he became an avid canoeist and pioneering snowmobiler. His love for wild places pushed him along the Allagash, St. John, and Aroostook rivers and all the snowmobile trails between Caribou and Quebec. He retired from his practice in 1985, and planted 10,000 Christmas trees to keep himself busy. He enjoyed 25 years of farming, travel, and family visits. He was a lifelong member of Holy Rosary Parish in Caribou and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Belfast. He was a member of the Caribou Rotary Club. He enjoyed classical music and loved to play bridge. He was a competitive sportsman, an accomplished golfer, tennis and ping-pong player, and skier. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elaine Hammond Gregory; three sons, Kurt, Dana, and F. Mark Gregory ’80; three daughters, Christine Goldfrank, Andrea Jarrett, and Leslie; and five grandchildren.

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