Wilfrid Stuart Fenton

Red Fenton, age 90, died on Wednesday, June 30, at the Willow Valley Retirement Community in Lancaster, Pa. He was born in Leeds, England, on November 27, 1919, and immigrated to America with his parents, the late William and Margaret Fenton, when he was only six months old. Raised in Niagara Falls, New York, Red attended Alfred University on a basketball scholarship. He served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army in the Signal Corps in Europe and was on his way to Japan when World War II ended. After the war, he returned home and attended Clarkson University. He married his sweetheart, Betty Fenton, in 1946 and they recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. Red began his career in the oil industry in Bayonne, NJ, helped train Ronald Getty in the oil business with Getty Oil Company. He spent most of his career working for Conoco Oil Company, and eventually retired as Manager, Western Hemisphere. He was instrumental in negotiating a deal to end the Libyan oil embargo against the US during the early 1970's. Red was president of the Old Guard while living in Princeton, NJ. Additionally, he lived with his family in Oradell, NJ, Hamburg, Germany, London, England, Charlottesville, VA, Honolulu, HI, Darien, CT, prior to moving to Willow Valley. Red is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Jane Rossell Statius Muller "Betty" Fenton, and his three children: Ross, husband of Kathleen Fenton, of Andover, MA; Betsy, wife of Roy Riley, of Robbinsville, NJ; and Robin, wife of Peter Roberts, of Kenilworth, IL. Red has nine grandchildren: Amy and Ross Fenton; Chris and David Pryor; Megan, Matthew, and Michael Roberts; Lee and Alison Riley; and three great-grandchildren: Timothy, Braden and Ethan Riley. A memorial service and celebration for his life will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, July 26, at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, Rt. 31, Ewing, NJ. Visitation with the family will begin at 9:30 am at the church until the time of the service. Interment will be in George Washington Memorial Cemetery in Paramus, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Red's honor to the Alzheimer's National Foundation or the American Cancer Society.

Wilfrid Stuart Fenton

July 7, 2010