Fred was born January 29, 1942 in East Prussia. His father died in the WWII battle of Stalingrad, and so in 1951 Fred, his older brother, Rudy, and mother, Lydia, immigrated to Los Angeles to live with an aunt. There Fred enrolled in school, learning English by immersion. Three years later, Lydia remarried, and they moved to Orange County. Fred graduated from Western High School in Anaheim in 1960, and then went on to Biola College in La Mirada, California to earn his BA Degree. During this time, Fred also served as part-time Youth Pastor at his home church, Magnolia Baptist in Anaheim, where he met Kathy. After Fred and Kathy were married in 1965, they moved to Sioux Falls, SD, where he completed an MDiv. Degree in Biblical Studies at the North American Baptist Seminary.