Richard H. Fritz Passes Away

Richard Herbert Fritz, 68, of the Douglas MacArthur Class of 1965, passed away, on Saturday, November 7, 2015.

In school, Richard was Vice President of the Sophomore Class, and involved in Latin Club 2; AFS Club 2, 4; Student Council 3; and then his pre-med career began to show itself as Chemistry Lab Assistant 3, 4, and in Science Club 3, 4.

Richard was very active in the Tennis Team all four years, and his victories were recorded on the sports pages of the Decatur Herald and Review, during his high school years.

His first car, he recalled in 2011 for that year's Mac 65 Class reunion, was a 1951 Plymouth.

Richard Fritz received his medical degree from the University Nebraska College of Medicine (Class of 1974). He did his residency at the Clarion Methodist Hospital of Indiana and at St. Vincent Hospital Healthcare Center.

Dr. Fritz was an internist in Decatur, Illinois and was affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Decatur Memorial Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital. He was in practice for 41 years, specializing in internal medicine.  He maintained an office at 418 W. Wood Street, Decatur, Illinois.

In several Decatur area obituaries, discovered throughout the Internet, one finds messages that families "would like to give special thanks to Dr. Richard Fritz for his care and compassion” to their loved ones before they passed away.

The following obituary was published at the Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Home site:

Beloved Dr. Richard H. Fritz passed away at home on Saturday, November 7, 2015. He was 68. Richard was born in St. Louis on May 5, 1947, the first boy of Dr. Herbert C. and Margery (Starr) Fritz. He grew up in Decatur; he left to attend Lawrence University, where he met his much-loved wife of 46 years, Nancy Davis. They were married on August 16, 1969 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Richard attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and was in the Class of 1974. He completed his Residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, then returned to Decatur to practice Internal Medicine with his father until Herbert retired 12 years later. He was on the staff at both DMH and St. Mary’s, and continued in solo practice until his death. His capable and caring office staff was very special to him, and made his days easier. Many of the staff had been at the office for over 10 years.

Richard loved his family and pets, lifelong friends, his patients and office, trains, gardening even when the heat was high and the rabbits tried to eat his produce, cooking large batches of beans, making burritos with assorted fillings, and being out in the country. He taught his children how to plant and dig potatoes, to always check to see if a train might be coming and if so to stay and watch, and never to go to bed angry. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, son, and brother. He did what he did with passion, was quick to help and generous with his time and gifts, took pleasure in being available to his patients and could always be depended on by all his family. He had a quirky, kind, mischievous sense of humor and a very loving and loyal heart. He loved the Central Illinois landscape and would call home to be sure that his family members knew to look out the window at particularly beautiful sunsets; he was and is dearly loved and will be missed greatly. Richard avidly supported the Macon County Conservation District and served on their Board of Directors and Foundation; it was important to him to preserve the outdoors for the use of everyone. He also had a strong interest in business and economics and enjoyed serving on the Board of the Gerber State Bank of Argenta. He was serving as Director of Decatur’s Harbor Light Hospice and was a member of First United Methodist Church.

Richard is survived by his wife Nancy; daughters Anne (Jan) Jost-Fritz, Manhattan, KS; Julie (Travis Lee) Fritz, Chicago, IL; Becky (Andrew) Owen, Minneapolis, MN; grandchildren Felix and Fiona Jost-Fritz and Oliver Owen; mother Margery Fritz, Decatur IL; brothers Dr. Robert C. (Kate Pendleton) Fritz, Roswell, GA; Dr. Randall J. (Dorothea) Fritz, Rochester, MN, and sister Janet (Ed) Early, Charlotte Courthouse, VA.

He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Herbert C. Fritz. (Note by Loren Coleman: Dr. Herbert C. Fritz, 95, Decatur, died Friday, August 23, 2013. Richard H. Fritz's father Herbert was born May 3, 1918, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Dr. Carl Fritz and Edna Lauenstein Fritz.)

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 in the morning on Friday, November 13 at First United Methodist Church, Decatur, with a visitation at the church Thursday, November 12 from 4:00-7:00 in the evening.

Suggested memorials include the Macon County Conservation District, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur, IL, 62521, or First United Methodist Church, 201 W. North St., Decatur IL, 62522.

 

(Thanks to Cheryl Lanum and Donna Maddox for the initial sad news.)