Big sendoff on the beach for Frederick 'Fico' Fernandez

 NSBNews.net photo / Friends pay their final respects Saturday on the beach for New Smyrna Beach High School teacher Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, killed in a surfing accident a week earlier in the surf. 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Debra Fernandez and her three children were joined by more than a thousand friends in a memorial sendoff Saturday for her 55-year-old husband, Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, tragically killed in a freak surfing accident in the swollen waves of post-Hurricane Irene.

"He was a dedicated man who took care of us," she said. "He really lived and loved life to the fullest."

EDITOR'S NOTE: NSBNews.net will have a complete story on the service later today, including a half dozen videos and close to a hundred photos.