Mary Sutsch Fritz passed away peacefully in her Fortuna home on December 6th, 2016. Mary was born the second child of Nikolaus and Maria Sutsch on December 19th, 1936 in Nieder-Eidisch, Romania.

As refugees of World War II, her family fled from Romania to Austria where they remained at displaced persons camps for several years. She met her future husband John Fritz, a fellow refugee, during a youth conference in Salzburg, Austria. Her family was sponsored for immigration by Daniel McCrea of Yancey, Texas in 1952 and on May 10th of that year she arrived at the Port of New Orleans with her parents, grandparents, and 3 siblings.

She moved to Fortuna marrying John Fritz on July 3, 1955. They would be married for 53 years and spend the rest of their lives in Fortuna. In 1956 their first son Richard was born, followed by two brothers, Randy and Jimmy, in 1959 and 1960. Their family was complete with the adoption of a long hoped for daughter Adina in 1968.

Mary loved to sew through the years with her sister Maragete, leaving her family with many beautiful handmade treasures to cherish forever. She loved gardening and took great pride in her roses. She also enjoyed sharing recipes, cooking, baking and most of all sharing all she knew with anybody who wanted to learn. She was an active volunteer for the Seventh Day Adventist Church where she enjoyed creating floral arrangements for countless weddings with her sister in law Anna Fritz. She gave of herself endlessly in any way she could. Her kind and caring spirit defined her, taking care of anyone who needed her love. She loved children, helping to raise John’s much younger brothers along with her own sons, and later her two granddaughters Heather and Aubrea Fritz.

She is preceded in death by her husband John Fritz, son Randy Fritz, and her parents Nikolaus and Maria Sutsch. 

She is survived by her children Richard, Jim (Jo Ann) and Adina Fritz of Humboldt County, granddaughters Heather (Michael) Jäger of Houston, Texas and Aubrea Fritz of Portland, Ore., sister Margarete (Dale) Webb of Springfield, Ore., and brothers John (Nancy) Sutsch of Fortuna and Thomas Sutsch of Tyler, Texas. 

Due to her love of Christmas and all children, in lieu of flowers, the family requests to make a donation in her name to Toys for Tots. Her funeral will be held Saturday, December 10, at 3 p.m. at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Fortuna. Graveside service to follow at Sunrise Cemetery. All are invited to attend. A memorial service is planned for January 14th, 2017.

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The obituary above was submitted by Mary Fritz’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.