Fred began his professional life teaching mechanical drawing to high school students. It was after serving in the Army during the Korean War that he earned his Occupational Therapy degree at Virginia Commonwealth University on the GI Bill. His first job was at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, becoming the director of Occupational Therapy in 1957. In 1960, Fred joined the staff of the amputee clinic at Northwestern University, and this is where he began to design and build devices to assist individuals with disabilities in their every day activities. With a growing demand for his devices, Fred decided in 1965 to devote all his time to creating, manufacturing, and distributing his inventions, and "the rest is history." Sammons, Inc. grew to a multimillion dollar business, and is now Sammons Preston, a part of Patterson Medical, Inc. In retirement, Fred remains a special consultant and special ambassador of this company to Occupational therapists around the world.