Fred Louis Caddell Jr.

Fred Louis Caddell, Jr was born May 10, 1970. He passed away on Sunday, November 16, 2025 surrounded by his loving family and friends. Louis grew up on the family farm in Wilson’s Mills, nurtured by family, friends and the great outdoors. Those who knew him and loved him called him “Louis,” but some of his closest buddies called him “Buckshot.” Buckshot hails back to the days when Louis did a little amateur wrestling and “Buckshot” was the name he used for his wrestling persona. By any name, Louis was a story-telling, joke-telling, nature-loving, outdoorsy (hunting and fishing), bargain-shopping, compassionate, caring and generous man.

Louis graduated from Smithfield-Selma High School in 1988. In the years after graduation, he worked for Food Lion in the meat department for some years while going to Johnston Community College for Mechanics. He became a volunteer firefighter with the Wilson’s Mills Fire Department in 1991. After obtaining his degree in Mechanics, he worked at Bill’s BP in Selma as a mechanic and later worked at Siemens. In September 1996, he was hired by the Cary Fire Department, fulfilling his lifelong dream of being a firefighter. He worked as a firefighter for 26 years, retiring as a Captain in 2022. Even after his retirement, he worked part-time for NC State as both an EMS worker and a fire official for on-campus events. Throughout his career, he received several awards for “Code Saves” for successfully helping to resuscitate people in cardiac arrest.

Louis is survived by his parents, Fred and Pattie Caddell; his three children, who were the loves of his life, Amber Coleman (Darius), Ariah Tanner, and McKenzie Tanner; his sister, Dawn Hodge (Jeff); his brother, Travis Caddell (Barbara); niece and nephews, Brenna Hodge, Hunter Jackson, William Hodge, and Vincent Caddell. Louis is preceded in death by his grandparents, Walton and Verna Mae Wilson and Buck and Gladys Caddell.

The funeral service will be held on Monday, November 24, 2025 at 2:00PM at Wilson’s Mills Christian Church in Wilson’s Mills located at 179 Fire Department Road, Wilson’s Mills, NC 27527. Visitation will be held after the funeral service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Wilson’s Mills Firefighter’s Association, PO Box 82, Wilson’s Mills, NC 27593.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family at Parrishfh.com