Frederick Mansfield Showers

Please consider honoring Fred's legacy by contributing stories, memories, photos, or videos to our memorial 'Guestbook', or to the architectural heritage Fund.

Obituary

Frederick (“Fred”) Mansfield Showers, 88, passed away peacefully at his home in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on July 23, 2026.

When Fred smiled his eyes twinkled and lit up the room. He was both reclusive and the life of the party, gruff and gentle. Above all, he was kind.

A man of simple desires, Fred carried a rich inner life of deep compassion and curiosity beneath an unassuming exterior. The roles he treasured above all else were those of a lifelong partner and a devoted, hands-on father. He wielded an ever-enduring, trademark sense of humor and quick, impish wit like a superpower, and a medicine. Wise, pragmatic, and governed by down-to-earth common sense, Fred’s principles were reliable because they were authentic and bone-deep, not theoretical—he judged people at face value by how they acted and impacted other living beings, and nothing else. When thunder was called for, he made it count.

Fred was born and raised in Tannersville, New York in the Catskill Mountain High Peaks amidst their grit and magic, a product of eight generations of the region's pioneers. He was the eldest of six children, frequently referred to by his sister as “the best big brother anyone could ask for.”

He graduated as valedictorian of his high school class and went on to have an extensive educational career. He received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (BME) from Clarkson University, where he was a member of the Omicron Pi Omicron (O Pi O) fraternity—a comradery he cherished and would reflect on fondly for the rest of his life as the formative highlight of his student years. He went on to teach at Hobart College while pursuing a master’s degree in Mathematics, then taught at Union College before landing at SUNY Oneonta, where he became a tenured professor of Mathematics Education.

In Oneonta, Fred met and married his wife, Kathryn May Showers, who he built a beautiful life with over the next fifty-seven years. They moved together to Gainesville while Fred obtained his doctorate at the University of Florida. After twenty years of teaching and seven years rebuilding their heritage home in Oneonta, Fred moved to his wife’s hometown in Eastern Long Island to work as a consulting engineer with his father-in-law, Walter Guldi Sr., and became a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.).

It was here, in Westhampton Beach, New York, that Fred raised his family—his greatest passion. At Guldi & Showers Professional Engineers, he built a lasting reputation, sought after for his meticulous work, sound judgment, and readiness to find solutions to any problem. And, of course—his wildly sought after annual holiday Catskill Mountain apple pies. He later took on the office of Building Inspector for the Village of Westhampton Beach, while continuing his private practice. He was a devoted volunteer Fire Police officer with the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, the “Sons of the Beach”, throughout his time there, often intentionally arriving first on the scene to assess accidents and fires, putting his structural mind and instincts to work for everyone else’s safety.
Highly respected in the community, his reputation, much like his private life, was built not on grand gestures but on the steady, everyday decency of how he treated people and showed up for them.
Upon retiring, Fred moved with his wife to a log home in Hawley, Pennsylvania where—forever a mountain man at heart—he was able to reconnect with his roots and enjoy life at leisure on an idyllic lake in the woods. He subsequently moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in his advancing years. Fred enjoyed reading, tinkering, collecting, quiet contemplation—a good campfire and a good view—and never lost his intellectual curiosity or hunger for solving engineering problems.
He met his final months the same way he met most things: with a casual, ironclad determination and faith in tomorrow.


Fred was predeceased by his parents, H. Mansfield Showers and Annabeth (Voss) Showers of Tannersville, NY, and his siblings Barbara J. Browne and Commander Michael J. Showers. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn May (Guldi) Showers; his two children, Jeffrey A. Showers and Arden G. Showers; his siblings Elizabeth “Betz” Mann, Arthur V. Showers with his wife, Barbara Showers, Ralph V. Showers; and several nieces and nephews.

There will be a graveside ceremony and reception this fall (details forthcoming) for the interment of Fred’s ashes at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Cemetery* in Elka Park, NY. (see: SERVICES).

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*In lieu of flowers, the family is collecting donations (please see: 'FUND') toward the time-sensitive restoration of the historic St. Francis de Sales Church, which is at the site of Fred’s final resting place, & was designed & built by his grandfather Arthur J. Showers (1912). Structural elements are actively threatening the building and require immediate emergency repairs. A family heritage memorial will be established in Fred’s name to contribute to the immediate & ongoing preservation of this Catskill landmark, as well as the regional heritage of the Showers Family and associated Catskill High Peaks history, culture, & wilderness (a timely priority as the region continues to experience rapid development).

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