"Banjo Fred" J. Unger, of Middletown (formerly of Warwick) passed away on February 23, 2011 at Horton Hospital. He was 81 years old.

Born on September 12, 1929 in Teaneck, NJ, he was the son of the late Fred and Martha (Hubbard) Unger.

He was married to the late Carol M. (Bell) Unger (1995).

Fred served in the National Guard and retired in 1967 from Georgia Pacific, where he was a Machine Operator. He was a former member of the Church of the Nazarene in Warwick. Known as “Banjo Fred” he was a skilled banjo player and entertained in Sugar Loaf.

He is survived by his daughters: Cynthia Cutler and her husband Shawn of Middletown and Tina Redner and her husband Gerald of Middletown; a son, Steven Unger and his wife Eufemia of Middletown; seven grandchildren: Tracy, Rob, Michael, Kristy, Daniel, Kelly and Kay; fourteen great-grandchildren: Ashley, Karissa, Victoria, Devantae, Raven, Milina, Jezielle, Kyli, Alexis, Parker, Hayden, Phoenix, Kyan and Jacob; a sister, Phyllis Welfel and her husband John.

Visitation will be on Sunday, February 27th, from 4:00-7:00 pm at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Avenue, Warwick. Funeral service will be at 10:00 am on Monday at Warwick Valley Church of the Nazarene, 601 Rt. 94N, Warwick, followed by interment in Warwick Cemetery.

"The family would like to express a special thank-you to the wonderful staff at Horton Tucker Center, Drs. Ronen, Hulse, Hussain, of Crystal Run Health Care."