The Fish and Boat Commission this week announced the passing of Commissioner Frederick P. Osifat, Vice President of the Commission.

Commissioner Osifat was appointed by Gov. Rendell as a member of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on February 13, 2006 and represented Commission District Seven, comprised of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

A resident of Carbon County, Osifat, 64, was an ardent fly fisherman active in several fishing and sportsmen’s organizations over the years. He was a member of the Paradise Hunting and Fishing Club, Lehigh River Stocking Association, Northampton-Lehigh-Carbon Outdoor Sportsmen Association, and the Western Pocono Chapter of Trout Unlimited serving as Director.

Community interest had him serving on the Kline-Banks-McAdoo Regional Authority, Banks Township Municipal Authority, Tri-County (Carbon-Schuylkill-Luzerne) Airport Study Advisory Board, and the Department of Transportation Citizen Advisory Board.

Commissioner Osifat obtained an Associate Degree in engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. At the time of his death he was Director of the Office of Planning and Development for Carbon County and had been employed with the County since 1993. Previously, he served as Executive Vice-President and partner in the former PennEast Corporation, a multi-disciplined engineering firm based in Pottsville.

In the biography he provided at the time of his appointment to the Commission, he noted the sentiments of Henry David Thoreau who observed…“Many men go fishing all of their lives, without knowing it is not fish they are after.”

He is survived by his wife, Carmella, and two children, Fred, Jr. and Sharon.

11/30/2007