The memorial service for Dr. Fred M. Long will be 10:00am Friday, February 16, 2018 at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church with Reverend Dr. John Toles officiating. Inurnment will take place at that time in the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Columbarium. Services are under the direction of Henninger-Hinson Funeral Home.

Being of the opinion that if you want something done correctly, it is often better to do it yourself, and, with that in mind, I take my pen in hand to compose my own obituary.

It is traditional to name your place of birth which is Newkirk, OK, and date of birth which is Aug 2, 1926. My mother, Blanche, had been a country teacher in Osage County. My dad, Fred, was sheriff of Kay County at that time. With the advent of prohibition, he became a prohibition officer, and we moved to Enid in 1930. Mostly what I remember over the next 12 to 15 years had to do with school. In those days children mainly played outside. We had such wonderful games such as kick-the-can. We played a lot of baseball, but there were no adults involved because that was before the grown-ups got involved and called it little league which, in my opinion, ruined the game. I guess I was pretty good at school acquiring the nickname of Einstein during my junior and senior years. I graduated Enid High School in 1944 and then things began to happen. I enrolled in Phillips University and graduated three years later.

In 1947, one of the most momentous things happened to me in that I was admitted to medical school. Other momentous things that happened to me was meeting and marrying Anne Hutton, joining the army, spending two years in Germany as a physician, and later the birth of our two children, Eric and Katheryn and then their children, Erika, Amanda and Daniel. I took my residency in radiology at the Mayo Clinic and moved and started a practice at Great Falls, Montana. At this point one is supposed to list presidencies and chairmanships one has held, and suffice it to say there were plenty.

Major pastimes consisted of hunting and fishing and for a man who enjoyed that sort of thing, Montana was paradise. Finally after 23 years and 3 record-breaking winters in a row, Anne and I decided to move back to Enid where I joined Dr. Dan Mitchell and Dr. David Russell in the practice of Radiology and finally retiring in 1986. In Enid I enjoyed my other hobby of woodworking. If you were to walk around our house today, you would find many pieces of furniture that I have made and Anne proudly displays.

Since that time life has been really quiet. Anne and I got into the travel trailer hobby and visited virtually every state in the Union. Years went by and driving skills diminished so we sold our trailers and let someone else do the driving. Our later life somewhat resembles a grandfather clock which is gradually running down, going slower and slower, which is fine. So life now consists primarily of going to the library, grocery store, church, and enjoying the lovely town of Enid, where we have chosen to live and call home.

In lieu of flowers, Fred's family would like memorial contributions be given to the Enid Symphony Orchestra. Henninger-Hinson Funeral Home is entrusted to be custodian of the fund.