The uncompromisingly brilliant Fred Hewett—virtuoso computer programmer, master of anything his broad intellect chose to pursue, avid reader, notoriously picky eater but lover of hamburgers as long as they were dressed with ONLY ketchup, onions, and tomatoes—passed away at his home in Austin, Texas on April 21, 2024. His remarkable wife, Laura, the love of his life, was with him. He was 72 years old.
He was born Frederick Ashton Hewett III on April 13, 1952 in Philadelphia, PA to Frederick (Fred) A. Hewett Jr. and Virginia (Ginger) C. Rushton Hewett. Fred grew up around technological innovations, so perhaps it is no surprise that he pursued that career path himself. His father was an industrial engineer with IBM, helping design and develop the first magnetic strips on credit cards, and the family moved frequently as his father’s job demanded. Graduating from Michigan State University in 1974 with a BS degree in Mathematics, Fred soon took a job with Texas Instruments in Dallas and then followed his college friends Bill Mitchell and Tom Morrison to Austin to work for TI on the Advanced Scientific Computer (ASC) project. The three friends continued to work together at different technology companies, finally ending up together at RyanMcFarland/LPI/Liant Software Corporation for the last decades of their careers, where Fred co-created (with other longtime friends John Bradley and Bruce Sinclair) a patented technology for accessing relational data.
Such enduring friendships indicate the high esteem in which Fred was held by his coworkers, and he was admired not only for his formidable skills but also for his steadfast integrity. Fred had little tolerance for those who behaved incompetently; however, he was unsparingly generous with his deep knowledge of early computer programming languages and relational database development, and he was a true friend to those lucky enough to know him well. From his self-diagnosed vantage point on the autism spectrum, he was incapable of lying, hypocrisy, or flattery. With Fred, there were no ulterior motives and never any mean intent.
It was during his stint at RyanMcFarland/LPI/Liant that Fred met his wife, Laura, who also worked there. The two discovered that they shared an engineering mindset as well as a dislike of clothing and vegetables—a dream match if ever there was one. They were devoted to one another, and in 2011 when Fred contracted multiple myeloma, their bond provided the care and support that enabled him to confound the statistical five-year relative survival rate for the disease for 13 years.
Fred is survived by his wife, Laura Hewett, of Austin; sister Virginia E. Hewett of Bunnell, Florida; niece Heather (Josh) Whitaker and their children, Jackson, Sarah, Carrie, and Jessa of Bunnell, Florida, and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and his aunt, Ruth M. Griffith
The family wishes to thank the staff at Texas Oncology Central and South in Austin. Laura asks that anyone so inclined perform a random act of kindness in Fred’s honor.
Fred Hewett
