Fred Hacker
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Fred Hacker, age 54, of Sudbury, Massachusetts died Saturday November 28, 2020, at home. He was born in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire to Diane S. Hacker (currently Bartlett) and Claud H. Hacker on August 18, 1966. Fred grew up in Moultonborough surrounded by the mountains of New Hampshire and Lake Winnipesaukee. He graduated from Bates College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Graduate school at Dartmouth College followed, and in 1994, Fred was awarded a PH.D. in Physics. Fred married Laura Seyfarth Schreiber in June 1991. Three children followed: Fiona, age 27; Duncan, age 24, and Ian, age 19. Fred immensely loved his family. He was a loving son to his "Mum," Diane Bartlett and "Dad," Josiah "Josh" Bartlett. Words fail to express the depth of his love for Laura and their children. Fred was devoted to his maternal grandparents: Fred E. Davis and Dorothy "Dotma" Davis, throughout their lives. Fred was a quiet, thoughtful man who expressed love more by actions than words; thus, his Grandpa dubbed him, "talks a lot." After earning his Ph.D. in Physics, Fred began work at Harvard University's Joint Center for Radiation Therapy. He continued his work as a Medical Physicist at Brigham and Women's and later as an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard. His professional life included supervising and monitoring patient stereotactic radiation treatment, teaching and clinical research. Fred celebrated his 25th anniversary at Brigham and Women's in June, 2020. Fred's career focused on improving cancer treatments. A friend and colleague stated about Fred, "his loving and expert efforts will transcend all time as the countless lives he helped go on as a result of his care, his brilliance and his efforts to impact others in the way that Fred modeled for them and for all of us and that is, 'Selfless giving'."
Fred and Laura moved to Sudbury in Feb. 1997, and soon learned that all the beautiful trees had a downside when an April Fools' Day blizzard hit a couple months later. After a tree fell on a power line they enjoyed "glamping" for a full week with their 2 young children (Ian had not yet arrived) in a house without power. Despite the eye-opening experience they never moved away. Fred particularly loved driving his Porsche or 1963 Sunbeam roadster along the many lovely scenic roads in town. Fred's love of cars first began as a teenager when he and Josh restored a 1963 Sunbeam Alpine and continued throughout Fred's life. Fred took great joy in driving his Porsche. He was a member of the Porsche Club of New England and attended their yearly Rambles, where over 150 Porsches and their drivers spent the weekends driving along 2 lane country roads in different areas of New England enjoying food, friends, and resort hotels. Fred was also looking forward to restoring the Sunbeam, which had been "attacked" by squirrels, with Duncan at Fred's parents' home in Moultonborough, New Hampshire.
Fred was an amazing cook and treated his lucky family to many delicious meals. He would spend Friday nights or Saturday mornings searching for new recipes to make on the weekends. Laura made sure to plant lots of herbs and vegetables to encourage his love of cooking. One of the family's favorite dishes was his Lingui Fini with freshly baked bread. Fred taught all three children how to make his French bread recipe so that even when they left home they would never be without it. Fred loved sharing sushi with Fiona, lobster with Duncan, and "Grammy's meat" with Ian. Fred's love of travel began when he spent his Junior Year Abroad at the University of St. Andrews and fell in love with Scotland and Scottish culture. Every year he would attend the Ancient Universities Alumni Burns Night celebration in January, bringing his family members with him to enjoy bagpipes, poetry, good drink, Scottish dancing, and of course plenty of Haggis. Fred traveled the world both professionally and personally. A few favorite destinations include Paris, France; Heidelberg, Germany; Sydney, Australia; Prague, Czech Republic; Kyoto, Japan; Mexico City, Mexico; and the Caribbean Islands as favorite scuba diving destinations. Fred had a myriad of other avid interests that included: fine food, wine and spirits; history, mythology and ancient weapons; hiking including all of NH's 4,000 footers and the trek around Mont Blanc; boating; scuba diving; and movies. Fred loved the show "Highlander" along with the opening song "Princes of the Universe," and it was a favorite weekend activity to watch an episode over lunch with his children. Fred's family is forever grateful for Fred's life and love, the impact he had on the world, and the breadth and depth of his experiences during his lifetime. Fred is survived by his former wife and dearest friend, Laura Hacker; their three children: Fiona, Duncan, and Ian Hacker; his parents: Diane and Josh Bartlett; his stepsister, Juliet Broussard, brother-in-law Tom Broussard and niece Alyson Broussard; father Claud Hacker; and Uncle Frank Davis. Due to the pandemic, a private family graveside burial took place on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, at the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, NH. A celebration of life will take place at the Moultonborough United Methodist Church in the summer of 2021, pandemic permitting by then. The family will announce the date when possible. Donations may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Fred's name. Opportunities to share online tributes or memories are available at Duckett Funeral Home of J.S. Waterman & Sons, Sudbury, MA, and Mayhew Funeral Home, Meredith, NH. In everlasting memory of Fred Hacker Forever in our hearts