Passed away on Thursday, July 11th, 2024.
Beloved son of Frederick (Michelle) Waelter Jr. and the late Patricia Waelter (nee Goff); loving father of Frederick “Quaid” Waelter IV; dear brother of Devin Frederick Waelter; dear nephew of Frank and Juanita West; our dear cousin, and friend.
It is with the deepest sadness to share that Frederick Martin Waelter III, at the young age of 46 years old, has passed away. He was a well-educated linguist with an abundant wealth of knowledge. He graduated from Country Day as a top linguist in his class, participating in the Russian Olympiad in Moscow, Russia. He also attended Georgetown University and graduated with not only 1 Major, but 4 Majors and 3 Minors. His background made it extremely difficult to obtain a job in the States, forcing him to look outside the country, making him well cultured and explore many places only some can dream of. He is the only person his family ever knew who needed a new passport because he maxed out on the number of extensions allowed. It is wild to think that one person can be responsible for many things within their career (just a few below). Frederick’s family is so proud of everything that he has accomplished, and they can only imagine what else he could have achieved.
He was a supply-chain social compliance professional with over 18 years of experience in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and social auditing. Hired as a full-time Social Auditor in China and promoted six times to a variety of roles based in four countries on three continents, covering client development, market research, regional expansion, Auditor and Account Manager recruitment, client service, product development and deployment, regional management, global program management, and business development. Consult clients on supply-chain monitoring/remediation program development and implementation; serve as clients’ first choice for information on industry developments, monitoring program design, and efficacy. Based on trends in social auditing and sustainability program design, develop new services to meet client needs; set up successful, multi-million-USD client programs in supply-chain capacity building, auditing, and remediation. A thought leader in the industry, liaising with both clients and major social compliance initiatives to design audit tools and protocols, serving as the voice of the third-party auditor in the field.
Frederick spoke a multitude of languages, including: English, Cantonese, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.
In lieu of flowers, contributions made to The Backstoppers, Inc. are greatly appreciated.
SERVICES: Visitation on Tuesday July 30th at KUTIS AFFTON CHAPEL (10151 Gravois Rd., 63123) from 4:00 – 8:00 PM.
Funeral from KUTIS AFFTON CHAPEL on Wednesday, July 31st at 9:45 AM for 10:00 AM Mass at Seven Holy Founders Catholic Church (6737 S. Rock Hill Rd., 63123). Interment at Sunset Memorial Park.
It is extremely sad to hear of Fred’s passing. What an intelligent and interesting individual. He will be missed by the CSR community and beyond. My warmest thoughts go out to his loving family.
The world lost a good man. My friend Fred was an incredible father, a caring husband, a funny jokester, a hard-working auditor, and a kind generous soul tragically taken way too soon.
Fred and I bonded over our love of languages when we met at choir rehearsal years ago. He spoke five languages and we shared our favorite non-English songs with each other and even debated grammar. He brought me to the airport a bunch of times and we enjoyed food, karaoke, and cultural outings like the opera. He even wrote me a friendship poem in Mandarin for my birthday.
I regret losing touch with him earlier this year due to our busy lives. I wish I had reached out this summer to check in. Now, I won’t get the chance. Dear friends, cherish the relationships you care about, don’t take your loved ones for granted, and pay generosity forward. I think it would be a great way to honor the memory of Fred.
Passion, drive, commitment, and intelligence, some of the words that immediately come to mind when I think of Fred. He left his mark wherever he went. Wishing his family all the strength they need to navigate this so tragic loss. My warmest thoughts are with you.
Rest in peace, dear Fred! You are such an important person in my work journey, and I’ll always miss you!
Fred is one of the smartest people I’ve had the chance to work with. You will be missed. My sincerest thoughts and prayers to his beloved family.
I come from China, I feel so extremely sad to hear of Fred’s passing today. He is the most excellent people I ever meet, he can speak Cantonese even better than me. He helped me a lot, he will be missed by all our colleagues. my warmest thoughts to his loving family. (T_T)
It is with great sadness that I was informed of this sad news. Fred was a good leader, a good colleague, an excellent role model in my career journey. and at the same time Fred was so kind and helpful, leaving us with a lot of good memories. Life is unpredictable. May he rest in peace. Please accept my deepest condolences.
Fred was one of the most compassionate, big hearted, caring people I knew. It is what made him so good in his human rights roles.
He was a wonderful colleague and friend. My deepest condolences to his family.
I am so sorry to hear of Fred’s passing. I was fortunate to work alongside him and to benefit from his knowledge and good sense of humor. I will always remember our adventure together presenting a business review at a client’s dining room table. My deepest condolences to his family.
Fred made an impact in everyone that had the luck to work with him. He was an incredible smart and kind person. My sincerest thoughts and prayers to his beloved family.
When I joined RS team Fred was the first person who reached out and gave me a hand. He supported me by sharing his knowledge and introduced me to many people. I will always remember that. I send my sincere condolences to his Family.
There are no words that will ever encompass the scope of what the world has lost. Our hearts are broken.
I am so sad to hear such unbelievable news! I had been working closely with Fred for a long period. He is knowledgeable, intelligent, kind and professional. He is a great father and husband as well as a good friend. He will be missed! Wishing his family all the strength they need to navigate this so tragic loss.
The painful news reached me this morning, and I was so shocked that I could not at first realized the fact.
Fred was a linguistic genius and a wonderful colleague. My deepest condolences to his family.
I’m so sorry to hear of Fred’s passing. He was an amazing person. I will always remember our random talks whether it was in person, phone or online chat. He will be greatly missed. My sincere condolences to his family.
I was saddened by the news of Fred’s passing today and so hard to believe. I have many wonderful memories of Fred. He was such an intelligent and kind person. He will be forever missed. My deepest condolences to his beloved family.
So sorry to hear this. Will miss the time we spent in Russia, Vietnam, US, UK and others. My sincere condolences to his family. May he rest in peace.
We were in the same batch of new hire in 2003. It was amazing that you could fluently recite the beautiful ancient Chinese poems. You could speak so many languages. You are such a knowledgeable, intelligent, professional and thoughtful person. It’s really hard to believe you left us. May you rest in peace. My sincerest thoughts and prayers to your beloved family.
I am so sorry to hear this news and can’t believe. Fred was a very kind person and one of my friends when I joined STR. He was smart and always had passion in works. May he rest in peace and my deepest condolences to his beloved family.
Fred has been a very humble, friendly and genuine soul. More to that, he was so knowledgeable. Its very shocking and we are going to miss him. Praying for his soul to rest in peace. And praying for the family to get all strength to come out of this phase.
这几天一想起你，都是你的笑容。
I am so sorry to hear this unbelievable sad news. I got to now Fred in 2010 and he was such an amazing person to be around with. I learned so much from him and I will always remember the fun time we spent together in China, USA and Europe. May he rest in peace and my deepest condolences to the family.
Fred was one of the most brilliant person I know. You will forever be missed….
It’s unbelievable! Fred was known in the industry for his knowledge, passion and smart work. He will be missed forever. I pray his forward journey is peaceful. My deepest condolences to the family.
Shocking to hear this. Fred was warm and friendly to his colleagues. He was passionate for his work. Learned much from him. Rest in peace Fred.
We are devastated to hear this tragic news. Fred was one of a kind. Super smart and dedicated. His contribution to the work of the Seafood Task Force has been second to none. Fred was deeply loved and he will be missed forever. Our deepest condolences go out to his family.
RIP Fred. You will be missed in so many ways. I was always amazed at your amazing knowledge and abilities. The world has lost a great mind and soul. Sending condolences and prayers to all of your family and friends. Terri Olano
My condolences to Fred’s family and friends. Like many, I met Fred through his amazing journey in the Social Compliance field. We met 10 years ago and he had a tremendous impact on my life, personally and professionally. In my book, Fred is a genius, kind, helpful, inspirational and really had a funny side. He coined the term “McFreggie” which was a combination of me, him and one of the accounts we serviced 🤩.We were a great team! I remember we had a meeting in Chicago and I got to meet Quaid for the first time. I gifted a little wooden car to them and Fred was so proud for me to meet him. I am going to miss you buddy.
Rest Easy in Heaven Fred!
It is such a shocking news. Fred is a passionate person for his work, friends and family. I still remember we first met in China, and his smile. My deepest condolences to his family.
It is so sad to hear of Fred’s passing away. He is so knowledgeable, friendly and helpful! Had there been a Hall of Fame of Social Compliance industry, Fred should have been listed on the top, for he is so perfect. I guess God missed him so much that God made him return to the heaven so soon. Last time when we had the call, Fred, in Taiwan at that time, said he was waving to me across the strait. I will miss you for a long time, Fred!
Words have escaped me on the loss of our dear friend Fred.
Fred, you have left an undeniable imprint on my life. Our trips to Asia and long talks about social responsibility and leadership will always be in my mind. I still have the Taiwanese charm you blessed on top of the mountain on my luggage to always protect me when I venture out. You will always be so special and important to so many people. We all love you.
It’s hard to find the words for how saddened we were to learn about Fred’s passing. I worked alongside him in China and the UK. His wit and sharp humor, expressed in so many languages, and enormous knowledge made working with him a delight. Fred’s passion extended to everything he did, and we had great times at dinners and the Sevens.
We will truly miss Fred.
Our deepest condolences to his family.
Michaela & Sid
Fred was a bright star in our industry and I remember fondly chitchatting with him while switching from Chinese to English to Russian all in one sentence! He also always had the best stories and enciclopedical knowledge! I will remember our time at UL together and then later when he was at BSI supporting clinical ESG work for us at RMI. Rest in peace Fred, I hope you get to use all those languages and erudite knowledge on the other side! My heart goes out to Fred’s son and family!
Rest in peace my dear Fred and my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
I have no words to express my shock and sadness… he left us way too soon.
Good bye friend. I enjoyed our rounds of intellectual conversations and countless jokes.
I still remember our first conversation 21 years ago. We were both in China at two different factories talking about complex issues, in search of the right approach to the unique situation. Two decades later we continued finding solutions but for new issues, and unfortunately we had one last one without realizing it would be the last.
I will miss you and you will be missed.
Rest in Peace.
Che
I only just learned about your passing, Fred.
And this has chilled my heart.
I remember the first time we spoke, on the boat that cruised over the San Francisco Bay at sunset. Years later you brought me to the UL team, where I met an astounding amount of brilliant professional and fun people. Where, as Russ always said, characters were welcomed.
I never again felt so proud to work alongside special people like you, Marianna, Julija, Lisa… I owe those great times and lasting friendships to you, and I will cherish the laughter and the stories, the gooey cookies and listening to you speak about making our world a little better.
Wherever you are, I hope you are at peace.
Rest in peace, dear Fred.
The world of workers’ rights has lost a shining light with your passing. Your passion for fairness changed many lives. Thank you for taking care of us all, gathering us together with and at UL, and inspiring us to work together for a better world.
My heartfelt condolences and love to Sharona and Quaid.
Forever remembered.
Jude