Fred Sepe

Fred Sepe, age 80, went home to be with His Lord on August 5, 2020.

Fred was born into a large, loving family in Queens, New York. He was the oldest of five siblings and 30 first cousins. Fred was a caring, hard-working man, fearless, smart, innovative and loving. He cherished his family, his farm, wildlife, horses and above all God.

Fred and his wife Anne were teenage sweethearts who were blessed with 59 years together and 5 wonderful children.  Fred and Anne came from a city background. Fred created and ran a business in the city. They preferred country life so they bought a family farm and moved to the Finger Lakes to raise pigs and grow cash crops. During the Farm Crisis of the ‘80s, they became agri-tourism pioneers, opening their farm for visitors. Over the years, the family hosted tens of thousands of visitors at Misty Meadow Farm.  In the 1990s Fred decided to farm organically and did so until he retired.

Fred was active in his church and community, and served for a number of years on the Advisory Council at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Fred is survived by his wife Anne, children Joseph Sepe, Elizabeth McCheyne, Peter Sepe, Tamara Sepe and Priscilla Sepe; along with their spouses plus 11 grandchildren, their spouses and partners and 1 great grandchild.

He is also survived by his siblings Johanna Demmerle, Robert Sepe, Maryann Hofmann, their spouses and families, and his many loving friends. He was preceded in death by his father, mother and brother Richard Sepe.

Because of the pandemic, Fred’s life will be celebrated privately by his family at home. For a memorial, please consider a contribution to World Vision Emergency Food in Africa Fund at donate.worldvision.org or Doctors Without Borders at donate.doctorswithoutborders.org