Frederick Zobel, retired commercial and residential Interior Designer, passed away on Friday, November 11 at the Centers for Living & Rehabilitation. He was 97.Born on January 20, 1919 in Gruenstadt, Germany to Friedrich and Auguste Zobel, he enjoyed his youth in the wine-producing region known as Rheinland-Pfalz until drafted into the German Army in January 1940. He served honorably in WWII, assigned to artillery and as a motorcycle dispatch rider throughout Eastern Europe until wounded during the Siege of Sevastopol. He returned to Germany via a Red Cross train. To avoid his return to Russia, he volunteered to join the Afrika Korps under Rommel and fought in the battle of El Alamein. After the fall of Tunis, the Afrika Korps capitulated in May, 1943. As one of thousands taken prisoner, he was transported to the United States as a POW until released in 1946 and repatriated to Germany.In 1948 he married his childhood friend, Annemarie Moser, and with the closure of his father's furniture business, they immigrated to Montreal in 1953 with their daughter Cornelia. Through sponsors, they entered the U.S. in 1955. Their son Axel was born one month later. Fred was offered a life-time job by his first employer, Max Blau in Newark, NJ, and the family moved to Westfield, NJ. There, a third child, Renee, was born in 1960. To further his career, he took positions in New York City and Westchester. With an aptitude for numbers and a gift for watercolor renderings, he worked with architects designing office interiors. In 1968, the family moved to California, driving across the United States along the famed Route 66 and spanning parts of the Continental Divide. As an immigrant, Fred wanted his children to experience America's historical wonders.Fred worked in San Francisco. But transient neighbors and unsettling earth tremors gave Annemarie reason to return to the East Coast. In 1972 the family moved to Manchester, VT. Fred pursued his own business doing interior design work for second homes at Stratton. Throughout this period, Fred restored antique dolls for his wife's business and began building doll houses. He and Annemarie were members of the First Congregational Church in Manchester.With the passing of his wife in 1997, Fred retired. He lived in and around North Bennington for the next 20 years, becoming a fixture within the community and a member of the North Bennington Congregational Church.He was an extraordinary man with an indomitable sense of purpose. A voracious reader, his knowledge of topics spanned history, religion and politics with passionate views on the direction this country was going. He was a gentleman who enjoyed concerts, visits to Caf Sabarsky in NYC and strolling on the grounds of Park McCullough. Remaining independent and creative, he continued to build finely crafted dollhouses until shortly before his death.He is survived by his daughters Cornelia and Renee, his son Axel and daughter-in- law Felicia and their three children, Nicole, Heather and Shannon.SERVICE: A memorial service celebrating his life will be announced at a future date.Memorial contributions may be made to The Fund for North Bennington, Inc., PO Box 803, N Bennington, VT 05257 or N Bennington Congregational Church, P.O. Box 248, N Bennington, VT 05257