Wischhusen, Fred, age 96, died peacefully on March 1, 2015 at his home in Lexington, where he resided for 57 years. He was often seen by his neighbors raking leaves, cleaning, and building a stone wall in his yard. He read The Boston Globe every morning, and his TIME magazine every week for many decades.

His dear wife Rena (Blanchette) Wischhusen passed in 2001 and was missed very much. They met in the 1940s as members of the Boston Y Outing Club, and were active mountain climbers and members for many years. Married for 53 years, they resided first in Allston before moving to the Peacock Farms area during the early development years. Summers were spent swimming, clamming, and blueberry picking at the cottage they built in 1950 on Great Neck in Ipswich. In their retirement years, they took many trips by car throughout the U.S. and traveled internationally with Elderhostel. They were avid golfers, loved to dance and attend art shows and museum exhibits.

Fred was born in Malden, graduated from Malden H.S. and the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, majoring in advertising and design. His career in the arts began at Lever Bros. in Cambridge in 1939, where he worked in sales promotion designing labels and packaging for numerous products. For 3 years during WWII he was stationed in Paris as a cartographer in the intelligence unit. For four years after the war, he worked as a freelance designer in his office on Brattle Street overlooking Harvard Square, specializing in box and soap wrapper design. In 1954, he became Art Director and Sales Promotion Manager for Dewey & Almy Chemical in Cambridge, and in 1968 he joined W.R. Grace in Lexington as Art Director in their industrial chemical group, where he worked until retiring in 1979.

Fred earned several awards for his art direction and for his photography. He worked on several Lexington Town Reports, and volunteered with FISH and at Lexington H.S. in the 1970s as a career mentor.

Fred is survived by his daughter Joyce and Bryan Serra, son Craig, daughter Claire and John Laurendeau, and son Robert. Also survived by 6 granddaughters, 2 great grandsons, and 1 great granddaughter.

A graveside memorial service will be held at Westview in April for family and close friends. Date to be determined once the snow melts.