Fred Pozeznik

Pozeznik, Fred 7/13/1955 - 12/19/2021 Plant City, FL Fred Pozeznik July 13, 1955 – December 19, 2021 Frederick Martin Pozeznik, age 66, of Plant City, Florida, passed away after a three-year battle with frontal lobe dementia surrounded by the love of his family on Sunday evening, December 19th, 2021. Fred was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and grew up on Nazareth College's 400-acre dairy farm. Where he learned the meaning of hard work. He graduated from Comstock High school in 1973 where he enjoyed playing football and was a pole vaulter on the track team. Fred loved working with people and people loved working with him. His warm personality, laid-back nature, and entrepreneurial spirit brought him success throughout his career. Among his professional endeavors, Fred worked for an ad agency, sold custom trucks at Freightliner, and during his tenure at Cabriolet, oversaw the customization of the first Hummer ever sold to a civilian, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fred had 3 children with Deb Wezensky. They raised the family in Indiana and Fred enjoyed launching rockets, flying dual-line kites, photographing his kids' sporting events, cheering for the Chicago Bulls and Notre Dame, making world-class Carbon brand waffles and Reuben sandwiches, camping, and taking trips to Lake Michigan with his family. Fred spent time traveling for his truck sales roles during this time and made some of his best friends while on the road. Fred was always an adventurous soul. After high school, he took a solo motorcycle trip from Michigan to California, camping along the way. He worked in construction and also pursued his hobby: skydiving. Fred's jump log shows he managed to accrue 395 jumps before he was 27 years old. Fred was one of the founding members of the Free Flyt Skydive Team, famous for deploying the largest American Flag under the canopy at that time. Free Flyt regularly delighted attendees with stunts at the Battle Creek Hot Air Balloon Festivals, Kalamazoo Air Shows, and a WMU football game to name a few. Fred completed his final skydive alongside his good friend and brother, Roger, on Thanksgiving 2019. In 2003, Fred married Nikki Campbell. Relocating to Florida was a great fit and Fred created his own Florida uniform: Hawaiian shirts, khaki cargo shorts, and Birkenstocks. He loved the sunny state of Florida and taking Nikki for weekend trips to St. Pete and Clearwater Beaches, where they'd enjoy his favorite classic rock cover band, Stormbringer, and dance to live music at Shepard's. Fred and Nikki were owners and administrators of Coventry Assisted Living in Plant City for 17 years. The residents adored Fred. When musicians came to perform, Fred would make sure to dance with each female resident. He was always around to help out and proud of how well-cared-for the residents were at Coventry. Fred and his wife Nikki enjoyed rescuing cats and dogs and he became known as the resident pet whisperer. In their last demonstration of loyalty to Fred, the family pets, George and Cali Cat, were at his bedside during his final hours. One of Fred's passions in life was Notre Dame football and he held his patronage strongly to the football legacy long after he left the Midwest. When his son Chris moved to Florida and Notre Dame football was playing, chances were that you'd find the two of them in Fred's man cave watching the game together. Fred held a myriad of hobbies and interests over the course of his life. He played racquetball, loved to fly drones (his aerial photo of the Plant City water tower won an award), enjoyed listening to classic rock, relaxing poolside with his family, dancing to live music, watching all sci-fi movies he could get his hands on, riding his Harley, and after his retirement, helping out his friends and neighbors as a public notary. Fred had retirement dreams of traveling around the US in an RV, owning a powered parachute, spending time with his family, and many more beach days. We are saddened that we don't get to have Fred with us on our adventures anymore but are so proud of everything he accomplished and experienced in his short 66 years. We will always keep him in our hearts. May Fred's legacy inspire us all to be adventurous, brave enough to start new chapters in our life, and carefree enough to get out on the dance floor. He is survived by his wife, Nikki Pozeznik, his children, Kate, Alli, and Chris, his stepson, Adam, his grandchildren and step-grandchildren, Wren, Selena, and Sophia, and his mother Mardelle (Mardelle passed away 2 months after Fred), his siblings Diana and Roger, and family pets George, Cali Cat, and Jack. He was preceded in death by his father, Martin Pozeznik, Jr., and beloved pets Zoey and Casper. A celebration of life party will be held Saturday, July 9th, 6-10 pm at Wax Wings Brewing Co. 3480 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, Mi 49048. Please come and have a beer and share a story or two. Along with some of his favorite music, Mexican food, and a slide show with some skydive footage of Fred doing his thing. It's a casual affair. In honor of Fred's work uniform, a Hawaiian shirt is suggested but not required.