Obituary of John Fritz

John Fritz of Camas, Washington died at 97 years of age on Tuesday October 20, 2015. He was the youngest of 7 children to immigrant parents in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his wife Bette Ann and survived by his daughter and son-in-law Nancy and Dan Mulsoff and their daughters Megan and Cori. Also by his son and daughter-in-law James and Dale Fritz, and their daughters Lindsay and Jennifer. He had 5 grandchildren. At the age of 17, John lied about his age to join the US Navy as a Chief Carpenters Mate. He fought during World War II, specifically in battles such as The China Sea, Midway, Coral Sea, Iwo Jima, and Guadalcanal. He worked on a Minelayer and survived the sinking of the USS Oglala (AKA Shamut) in Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the USS Astoria CA-34 (AKA the Nasty Asty) at the battle of Savo in 1942. He was honorably discharged after 9 years of service. John worked for the City of Los Angles in charge of Street Maintenance and retired at an early age to spend time with his wife Bette in Arizona. They were married 43 years before her death in 1987. They enjoyed traveling around the US, photography, and golfing. He would spend the later years of his life gardening, reading at least 8 books a week (which you can verify by the small dot on the last page of the large print books at the Camas Library). Occasionally he would tinker with building furniture with oak and ash. At the age of 88 he built his granddaughters an elevated playhouse in the backyard, complete with a deck and garden around it. For years he did a crossword puzzle every day keeping his mind sharp as a tack. He will be buried in Arizona alongside his wife on Veterans Day, November 11.