NORTHAMPTON — Fred Contrada traveled throughout the United States, collecting vignettes and stories from people he met, climbed every New Hampshire mountain at least 4,000 feet high and earned a black belt in karate.
And as a longtime reporter at The Republican, covering the city of Northampton and the court system, Contrada also gave voice to those who are often marginalized, including homeless individuals.
Though his life was cut short by progressive supranuclear palsy less than three years after his retirement, Contrada’s family, friends, colleagues, as well as those he wrote about for the newspaper, gathered at the Hotel Northampton Sunday afternoon to reflect on the impact he made during his 66 years.
“Fred was the most alive person I’ve ever met,” said Joan Axelrod-Contrada, his wife of 32 years. “He really believed in living life to the fullest.”
This included what she calls “a real spirit of adventure” that he passed on to their children, including daughter Amanda who is now living in Mexico City.
Before the event began, the Expandable Brass Band led a New Orleans-style parade from the Forbes Library, organized by their son, Rio.
“Fred didn’t want a sad farewell, he wanted a party,” Axelrod-Contrada said.
Mike Brault of Longmeadow, a former editor at The Republican who attended the College of the Holy Cross with Contrada, said they became friends in the early 1970s through their mutual admiration for Jack Kerouac.
“He always said that to write you have to have a lot of experience,” Brault said.
“This doesn’t surprise me,” Brault said of the crowd that gathered to remember Contrada. “Fred had that way about him”
“He was a bigger-than-life kind of guy,” said George Graham, who worked alongside Contrada for 29 years.
Graham said Contrada was a natural-born storyteller.
“He didn’t just write about something, he lived it deeply,” Graham said. “He was a great guy to go to the bar with, have a beer, and he would tell hilarious stories.”
David Reid worked with Contrada in the bureau in Northampton for about 10 years, but only became close 2½ years ago when Contrada first began fighting his illness. On Monday and Thursday afternoons, they would go to movies, karate lessons, drives in the country and hikes at Fitzgerald Lake.
“What was heartbreaking for me is that he was going to travel, write books, do karate until he was 80 and spend time with his kids,” Reid said.
Axelrod-Contrada said she appreciates the support she got from a caregivers group. “It was a terrible, terrible disease that cut his life short. It struck him at 64 and really robbed him of those years he was looking forward to,” she said.
But Axelrod-Contrada said that her husband bonded with others and always believed in building community, and his interest in people from all walks of life came through in his writing, both news stories and columns.
This was evident in his own life through the relationship with their neighbors for past 13 years, Elaine Brigham and Diane Fedorchak and their 3-year-old daughter, Rayah.
“He was so warm and friendly and would always say hello,” Brigham said, adding that her image of him is either in his karate outfit or with his guitar playing rock ‘n’ roll and blues songs.
Brigham said that Contrada was instrumental in creating a monthly soup night. “We would just be together and swap stories, while having our children play at our feet,” Brigham said. “I feel inspired to carry that on.”
One of those who hiked and climbed with him was Wesley Blixt, a journalist at The Republican and later at the news office at the University of Massachusetts.
They went to hike in Central and South America, Longs Peak in Colorado, Mount Whitney in California and two peaks in the Adirondacks.
“He was a tireless climber and hiker, and he was also a generous climber and hiker,” Blixt said.
Current and past city leaders remembered Contrada, as well.
City Council President Ryan O’Donnell said he was a consummate journalist. “He cared a lot about what he did, he cared a lot about the art of what he did, as well,” O’Donnell said.
Former Mayor Clare Higgins remembered Contrada as a diligent reporter, but also for dropping by her office to say hello to her dog, Lucy.
“I think the world of Fred,” Higgins said. “What a smart, good guy.”
Contrada’s son has completed the film “Time to Go,” a narrative fiction that is based on Contrada’s life and chronicles a young man and later someone suffering from a neurological disease. This will be shown at the Academy of Music, for free, the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com