The Rev. Bill Frederickson, retired minister and pastor emeritus of the Point Reyes and San Geronimo Valley Presbyterian churches, died suddenly on Monday of a heart attack at his home. The longtime Valley resident was 68.

"Everyone loved him, from little children to old folks. That was one of his special features," said close friend Edie Robinson, a San Geronimo resident and member of the church's search committee that brought him to the Valley in 1966.

"He came for a weekend to preach here, and we were won over by his faith, his integrity - and his wife," Robinson said, noting that many folks share her admiration of Sally Frederickson's irrepressible optimism.

Soon after, Rev. Frederickson left his job as an assistant pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, and came to West Marin, where he served for the next 27 years.

He loved hymns and coordinated their lyrics with his sermons, which he read from a little black book every Sunday, Robinson said. "I think his honesty and his sincerity are things that came through, along with his real concern for people."

Said daughter Toni Frederickson, "He was community all the way. People who weren't involved in the church would call him during a time of need or crisis."

And after responding to their calls, he kept their stories to himself, she said. "He has secrets none of us will know," she said, adding that her family never learned exactly what he did in a former occupation as a military intelligence officer.

Yet mystery never seemed to bother him, and he often preferred to work behind the scenes. "He did all sorts of things for people, and didn't mention any of it. We'd all find out later," she said.

Some folks suspected, however, that he had a habit for doing good, she said. "When he got his red Camaro in 1984, someone told me that they knew why he got a sports car: He could work for the Lord faster."

The Rev. Frederickson was also quite an athlete, said his wife Sally. When he wasn't wearing clerical robes, she noted, he was usually suited up in his jogging outfit.

He lettered in high school track and competed in organized races throughout his life. In his 40s, he was the national 220-yard champion in his age group in "masters track."

The Rev. Frederickson also nourished a not-so-secret love for baseball, she said. The Los Angeles County native liked any team from UCLA, which he attended before transferring to Brigham Young University in Utah, she said.

He became an avid fan of the St. Louis Cardinals when he joined the Air Force in the 1950s. Following his training at Scott's Air Force base near St. Louis, he did intelligence work for the military in Libya and Turkey.

After returning to the US, he worked briefly for Ford Motor Company before enrolling in San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. The ministry came naturally to him, explained longtime friend The Rev. Gene Burris, pastor of the Presbyterian churches of Stinson Beach and Bolinas.

"We misuse the word 'piety.' But his was so real - he was an authentic Christian man," Burris said. "He was a supportive guy who inspired people, and his loyalty was incredible."

What's more, he inspired other ministers, serving as "a pastor's pastor," said The Rev. John Dillon, who took over the pulpits in Point Reyes Station and San Geronimo after pastor Frederickson retired in 1993.

Last month The Rev. Frederickson was asked to name his favorite Bible passage. He cited Romans 8:38-39: "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The Rev. Frederickson is survived by his wife Sally, daughter Toni and daughter Nikki Keating of Menlo Park; sons Will of Mountain View and Chuck of Menlo Park; sister Lois Harmon of Los Angeles; four grandchildren, four nieces, and four nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at San Geronimo Valley Presbyterian Church.

Memorial contributions can be made to the "One Great Hour of Sharing" fund, Point Reyes Presbyterian Church, Box 487, Point Reyes Station 94956; and/or to the San Geronimo Valley Church building fund, Box 98, San Geronimo 94963.

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