Fred Harold Niehoff, Jr.

Fred Harold Niehoff, Jr., 85, passed away on December 20, 2015. Fred was born in Fairview Village, OH, suburb of Cleveland, lived in northern Ohio, moved to Newtown, CT in 1957, then to Hendersonville, NC in 1970, and finally to Sun City Hilton Head, SC in 2006. After the death of his first wife, Fritzi (Vivien), he married Caroline Doane in 1975. Their extended family included six children – Margaret Reilly, Fred Niehoff, III, Leslie Johnson, Timothy Doane, Darrah Smith, and Michael Doane. Timothy died in 2011. Also surviving are fourteen grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter. After earning his engineering degree at General Motors Institute, he held engineering and management positions in ball bearing manufacturing in Ohio and Connecticut. In 1970, he switched careers and started teaching at Blue Ridge Community College. His most rewarding experience was being the mayor of Hendersonville from 1993 to 2005. He and his team (City Council and City Manager) worked harmoniously to strengthen the city’s financial condition and improve or replace all of the buildings. Hendersonville is a great city, and the team is proud of its role. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3080 Okatie Highway, Bluffton, SC 29909. In lieu of flowers, please make any contributions to the St. Luke’s cemetery endowment fund, PO Box 2779, Bluffton, SC 29910 or Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, PO Box 3827, Bluffton, SC 29910.