Mr. Riffelmacher passed away on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at the age of 83. He was born on October 8, 1938 to the late Frederick and Augusta (Distel) Riffelmacher. He graduated from Bay City T.L. Handy High School in 1956, from the Bay City Junior College in 1958 and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1961, with a BSME degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined the US Naval Reserve in 1961 and served active duty from 1963 to 1965 aboard USS Spiegel Grove, LSD 32, visiting many countries and exotic places in Africa, Europe and South America and received honorable discharge. He joined Saginaw Steering Gear Div. of GM in 1965 in Product Engineering and retired from there as Senior Project Engineer in 1992.
Fred was a classical music enthusiast, loved opera and seeing plays in Stratford, Ont. and at Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. He was a world traveler, enjoying adventure trips to Antarctica, South America, the Amazon, Peru, Central America and Europe.
Fred is survived by his sister, Mary Lou (Riffelmacher) Ernst; nephews, Torsten Ernst with his wife, Sarah Ernst and Christopher Ernst with his partner, Alaqua Crawford; great nephews, Elias and Amundsen Ernst.
Funeral Service will take place at the Gephart Funeral Home on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. with interment to follow at Floral Gardens Cemetery. Officiating will be Pastor Eric Kieb. The family will be receiving visitors at the funeral home on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Memorial contributions may be made to your favorite charity.