Frederick Paul “Fred” Gehle, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 11, 2025. Born in New Jersey on June 1, 1933, Fred graduated from Glen Ridge High School in 1951 and attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA where he was a two sport athlete (cross country/track & field and swimming). In 1953, during his junior year of college, he married the love of his life Jane Leiss and welcomed his first son a year later. Fred earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Lafayette in 1955. He and his family of six children moved to Augusta in 1972 when Fred was offered a position with Babcock and Wilcox (now Thermal Ceramics). A real “people person”, he spent his entire career in human resources first in the corporate world then as owner of the Augusta office of Dunhill Professional Search beginning in 1974. Fred, with the help of his devoted wife, successfully ran the operations of Dunhill of Augusta for nearly 30 years before his retirement in the early 2000’s.

After closing his business, he committed much of his retirement years to serving the World War II veterans of the CSRA as local coordinator of the Veterans History Project. As a passionate lover of history (especially WWII), this endeavor was a dream come true for Fred. He and a team of dedicated volunteers interviewed hundreds of Augusta area veterans on their experiences during the Second World War; videos of the interviews were then placed in the archives of The Library of Congress for future generations. For many of the descendants of these veterans, this was their first opportunity to hear the stories of their loved one’s time in service overseas. Additionally, his deep interest in WWII history resulted in an enormous collection of books on the subject. Much of the collection was recently donated to the library at Augusta University with additional donations to follow.

Fred’s other passions included Colonial furniture assembly and finishing, gardening, watching all kinds of sports, traveling (especially to Hilton Head Island, SC and Colonial Williamsburg, VA), visiting with friends & family, and serving at his church (Covenant Presbyterian) where he was a member for 53 years and an Elder and more recently a Deacon to the congregation.

Fred was preceded in death by his son Kenneth C. Gehle. He is survived by Jane, his wife of over 72 years along with: Son: Frederick P. “Rick” Gehle, Jr. (Sherri) of Moultrie, GA; Daughter: Donna G. Hagan (Mike) of Prescott Valley, AZ; Son: John E. Gehle of Evans, GA; Susan G. Davis (Harry) of Travelers Rest, SC; Keith W. Gehle (Kimberly) of Suwanee, GA along with 11 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

A memorial service honoring his life will be announced at a later date.