Wagner College mourns the passing of lifetime trustee and alumnus Dr. Fred W. Lange ’53 H’06 of Sussex, N.J. Born on July 13, 1932 in Jersey City, N.J., he died on Tuesday, Aug. 11. He was 88 years old.
Fred Lange was a member of Wagner College’s Class of 1953, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He went on to study banking and finance at New York University.
Fred Lange was president and owner of Lange Financial Services. He founded the private money management firm originally on Wall Street, later moving its operations to Staten Island and then to New Jersey. Previously, Lange had worked as executive vice president, director and portfolio manager for Neuwirth Management and Research Corp., vice president and director of research for Blair Company, and president and portfolio manager of the Blair Fund. A member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, Lange was widely quoted in articles on various investment-related topics, especially in the Wall Street Journal. In 1995, Lange became a trustee for the Olstein Mutual Fund.
Lange was first elected to Wagner College’s Board of Trustees in 1995, serving four terms before being named a lifetime trustee in 2007. He was elected as the treasurer of the board and served in this capacity for six years. He was chair of the Business & Finance committee, chair of the Investment committee and member of the Audit committee. He was also a member of the executive committee for “Putting Wagner First: The Campaign for Wagner College,” which successfully raised more than $57 million.
Lange provided financial support toward the establishment of Wagner’s Founding Fathers Lecture Series, a program designed to attract speakers who supported limited government, family values, a strong national defense and a free-market economy. Guest lecturers for the series, which opened in 2018, were constitutional scholar Randy E. Barnett, economist Art Laffer and Fox News host Jedediah Bila ’00.
In 2006, Lange was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree by Wagner College in recognition of his career achievements and dedication to his alma mater.
In 2013, he received the Wagner College Alumni Association’s highest service honor, the John “Bunny” Barbes ’39 and Lila T. Barbes ’40 Wagner Alumni Laureate.
Fred Lange was predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Mary Elizabeth (Miklus) Lange, in 2016; his parents, Helen and Fred Lange; and his sister, Marylin Keshecki. He is survived by his son, Rob, daughter-in-law, Denise, and grandchildren Brian, Sean, and Nicole, of Wantage, N.J.; daughter Diane, of Greeley, Pa.; and brother Robert and nephew Bobby, of East Windsor, N.J.
For more details about the life of Fred Lange, visit his obituary online.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Ferguson Funeral Home, 27 Third St., Sussex, N.J.
- Visitation will be on Monday, Aug. 17 from 3 to 8 p.m. Masks must be worn by all, with 50-person capacity inside, socially distanced.
- A funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. If more than 50 attend, visitors will be able to pay respects to the family and then sit in their vehicles to join the processional.
- Burial will follow the funeral service. Proceed to Fairview Cemetery in Wantage, N.J. To find it, use this address in your navigator: 10 New Jersey 284, Sussex N.J.
