Marion Fritz, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away January 28 at Timber Ridge in Eureka.

She was born February 13, 1930 to Carl and Selma Harrison in Eureka. Sadly, her mother died when she was only 5 years old, then she lost her father at age 18.

After high school she worked for the Farm Bureau, PG&E and the Humboldt Times newspaper as a bookkeeper. She lived at the YWCA until it burned down.

Marion married her long time childhood friend Nolan Fritz, December 19, 1952. They would be inseparable and a team from that day forward.

The two of them along with her aunt built their  home on Ridgewood Drive. They had four children Nolan II, Lynn, Kavan, and Cleone.

After her children were grown she worked at Sears.

She became a baptized Jehovah’s Witness. Her faith and her spiritual family were very important to her. She loved and was dearly loved by her spiritual family. She was giving, thoughtful, and helped everyone. She was a grandma to many and carried a small pouch of candy to give to the children. Rosa Hernandez was her special “adopted” daughter.

She was an excellent cook, seamstress and knitter for which she won several blue ribbons at the Humboldt and Trinity County Fairs. She and Nolan had a big garden that they enjoyed together.

In July 2011, she suffered a severe stroke which doctors thought she would not survive. It left her paralyzed but she worked diligently in rehabilitation. She moved into Timber Ridge and Nolan stayed lovingly by her side helping care for her all day. After another stroke she still remained resilient. She was no longer able to do the physical things she did in the past and began using her creativity to do art and hand painted scarves. She talked about the good times at China Flat with Granny Henderson, attending Old Forest School and living with her grandparents in Fort Bragg, CA.

She had many happy memories of hunting, gathering berries, cutting firewood and camping with her family in Forest Glen. What she loved most was being a mom, grandma, and great grandma — “Gi Gi.”

Marion is survived by her loving and devoted husband Nolan, her son Nolan II, daughters Lynn Fritz and Cleone Ehlers and her favorite son-in-law Allen Ehlers, her sister Sigrid Snow, nieces and nephew, her dearly loved grandchildren and great grandchildren and her family at the kingdom hall. She was proceeded in death by her son Kavan, and her brother Tommy Hawkins.

Special thanks to Hospice and Timber Ridge and their caregivers for their help and support.

A memorial will be held February 24, at 2pm at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 4511 Campton Rd., Eureka.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Marion Fritz’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.