On September 5, 2026, Frederick Anthony Menendez III peacefully passed away in Leeds, Massachusetts. Born in Meriden, Connecticut on March 1, 1951, Fred was the eldest of six. He graduated from Lyman Hall High School in 1970 and enlisted in the United States Navy where he served from 1971 to 1975. He completed basic training at Great Lakes, Illinois—a period that inspired stories of his time in Chicago, the rigors of basic training, and led to the persistent dinnertime reminder to “take all you want but eat all you take.” In 1971, he transferred to the National Naval Medical center in Bethesda, Maryland to train as a hospital corpsman. For his service as a hospital corpsman, he was commended for his exemplary performance as a laboratory technician and at the time of his discharge, his commanding officer wrote that his sound knowledge of laboratory methods, good judgement, and meticulous attention to detail earned him the respect of the staff with whom he worked and the traditional Navy “well done.”

Fred went on to attend the University of the District of Columbia, graduating with a degree in Political Science. If you knew him, you knew this was a subject for which he had a voiced passion. During his career, he served 26 years in the HIV/AIDS research field first at Georgetown University and then The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a senior research technician and manager of the Flow Cytometry Core Laboratory. Having served on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS crisis since its early days until his retirement in 2014, he cared deeply for the community and regarded his work as “truly…a great honor and privilege.”

In his personal life, Fred was an avid nature lover and bird enthusiast. He found great joy in music and was proud to say he attended the legendary Woodstock in 1969. A singer, guitar, and harmonica player, he never passed up the opportunity to share his love for the musical arts. A longtime resident of Bowie, Maryland, he relished time near or sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and imbued his family and friends with his own love for the watershed and its bounty. Following retirement, he returned to New England in 2020, living in and adventuring around Northampton, Massachusetts with his partner, Jane.

Fred was the cherished son of Frederick Anthony Menendez II and the late Mary Ann Menendez; beloved father of Kimberly Menendez Lambert and her husband, Brian, Christian Frederick Menendez, and their mother, Teresa James Menendez; most beloved poppy of Jack Brian Lambert; cherished partner of Jane Hobert; loved and cared for by Barbara Hebert, her husband, Evan, and their daughter, Lyla; dear brother of Diane Menendez Bivona and her husband, Jim, Sandra Menendez Freeman, Lynda Menendez Pryzbylski and her husband, Alan, Richard Menendez, Michael Menendez and his wife, Bonnie.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in his memory to: Donate Life America or The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Further information for a celebration of life will be announced at a future date.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Fenton and Hennessey Funeral Home, 55 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, VT.