He was born in Virden, Illinois, where his father owned a shoe store. Fred began work when he was "about five or six years old" selling popcorn and peanuts on the town square on Saturday nights. He also pedaled newspapers, cleared lanes and set pins at a bowling alley, and sold rhubarb and doilies for a next-door neighbor, "just to help her out." Fred never finished high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age seventeen on April 22, 1942. Sent to Milne Bay, New Guinea, he was assigned to the USS Otus (AS-20), a submarine tender that carried food, fuel, and ammunition. He also participated in the invasion of the Philippines in Leyte Gulf. Fred rose in rank and duties as quartermaster third class. After his discharge he earned his GED, and then majored in business at the University of Illinois. He went to work for the Bank of St. Louis, which sent him down to Texarkana to manage a branch office. After about 10 years he moved to Bossier City and opened a Volkswagen dealership in 1964. He now owns Moffitt Mazda.