John Frederic Requardt

John Frederic Requardt Jr. died on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. Fred, or “Hootie” as he was known to his close friends on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Boca Grande, died peacefully in his sleep in Easton, Maryland, after, as he said on is recent birthday, a very full 92 years.
He was born on January 20, 1920.
He was predeceased by his wife, Nancy Burroughs Requardt.

A veteran of World War II, modest about his accomplishments, Hootie came to Boca Grande because of good friends who lived here, and he and Nancy grew to love it as much as their friends did. Hootie appreciated the relaxed atmosphere, the climate, and the new friends he made here. He loved the ongoing interactions he had with old friends and their families.
While very attached to Talbot County, Md., and having had some wonderful years living in the Bahamas, Hootie was never happier than in Boca Grande.  

That big, Endeavour-blue, custom-built, very yar powerboat Aweigh (he helped design and build it) that was moored south of The Pink for years, was a very happy home for Hootie and Nancy.
Kind and generous hosts, and thoughtful, considerate guests, they had all four feet in the Boca Grande social whirl – or at least a toe here and there.  

Hootie frequently found something to fix on the boat, or on someone else’s boat, or found something creative to do that required wood or machinery and ingenuity, leaving Nancy to juggle their calendar, which she did with unfailing grace.

Hootie loved zipping around in his golf cart, keeping an eye out for available mischief, including but not limited to accompanying an octagenarian Boca Grande friend on a birthday parasail, a present from his friend’s grandson.

His willingness to help friends get out of trouble, particularly if it involved boats or creative solutions, was constant. Hootie Requardt was a devoted, loyal, and true friend who said he was looking forward to being reunited with his cadre of dearly departed fellow mischief-makers, should they all have the good luck to end up in the same place.

Hootie is survived by his five children, four step-children, their spouses and offspring. His children are Kathryn Kip Requardt (Mrs. Roger Vaughan), Oxford, Md.; John Frederic Requardt III, Ruxton, Md.; William Stephenson Requardt, Easton, Md.; Wendy Caroline Requardt (Mrs. David Iglehart), Trappe, Md.; and Hope Humphreys Requardt, Sandwich, N.H.

His stepchildren are Caryl Firth of Palm Beach, Fla.; Nancy Firth Corson of Trappe, Md.; Thomas Firth of Bethesda, Md.; and Richard Firth of Trappe, Md.

Hootie was a loving grandfather to his many grandchildren, and a doting great-grandfather to his one beloved great-granddaughter.

His devotion to the younger generations (and guests aboard) was frequently manifest by careful placement of large plastic palmetto bugs and other odd creatures in strategically … surprising … places.   

He is greatly missed by family and friends.

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