Robert Dale Fritz

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, Robert (Bob) Dale Fritz of Centennial, passed away suddenly at the age of 77. Bob was born in Fort Collins on August 24, 1946, to Dale Blaine Fritz and Elizabeth Joan (Wagner) Fritz. He was joined in the coming years with a sister, Eileen, and two brothers, Gary and Terrell. He also thought of Gary’s wife, Barbara, and Eileen’s husband, Raul, as siblings. The family lived in Wheat Ridge and Lakewood and later settled in Fort Collins. Bob attended Lakewood High School and then college at CSU, CU Denver, and CU Boulder. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science. Bob lived with his parents in Fort Collins while attending graduate school at CSU where he studied to become a CPA. Over the years Bob worked for numerous companies in public accounting, real estate, and manufacturing. Bob worked very hard throughout his career to support his family and brought them from humble beginnings in three apartments, a mobile home, a duplex, the house in Lakewood, and finally to the family home in Centennial.

It was while working as a CPA that Bob met Merilu Steyaert, and they married on August 2, 1975. The young family lived for many years in Lakewood where their three children were born, Jason, Holly, and David. The family moved to their current home in Centennial in 1987. After moving, Bob returned to school and earned his Master's degree in Information Systems. He worked in that field until his retirement at the age of 69. He loved all his family, Merilu’s siblings Jim, LuAnn, JoAnn, her husband Lynn, and Larry, his daughters-in-law Denise and Natalie, and his five grandchildren, Valerie, Gabriel, Michaela, Peter, and Mia. Bob also loved his bird Tinkerbell and two Westies, Katie and Mardi.

Bob lived a big happy life. As a kid he enjoyed building models, reading comic books, wrestling in high school, and getting into all kinds of hijinks with his siblings. In high school he was an incredible gymnast and competed in the rings. He loved animals all his life and had many special connections with his pets. As an adult he found joy in spending time with his mother and siblings, teasing everyone, playing with his grandkids, spoiling his dogs, munching on food and sweets, tinkering with various projects around the house and on his computer, and he could get a good nap anywhere.

Bob was organized and always had to-do and goals lists handy. His favorite pastimes with his kids and grandkids included making model rockets and an RC airplane. He was always up for a game of cards, Scrabble, or chess - and good luck beating him! He cried at beautiful moments in movies, loved “Jeeping” and camping, and exercised and lifted weights his entire life. His loud jolly laugh could be heard all the time and especially when exchanging stories with family and friends. He was everyone’s biggest cheerleader and celebrated both their big and small accomplishments.

All those who knew and loved Bob understand that he was a man of many quirks. He was never shy about installing a “Bob Fix” around the house or having his own strange routines. Instead of going to the hardware store to get a piece to fix the toilet plumbing, he improvised with a paperclip that lasted for years. We would often joke that he was much like Homer Simpson with his love of donuts. Before he could go anywhere in the car he had to triple check that he had his chapstick and use it before he would open the car door. Bob was always coming up with new special diets like eating nothing but smoothies for dinner, but they would make him cold so he would happily slurp away sitting at the dining table in his winter hat, coat and gloves every night. He was never happy with the lighting at his home computer desk, so his solution was to place a floor lamp on top of the desk. Another favorite was that Bob would read books backwards. He liked to start at the last paragraph of the last page and then speed read back through a book and swore that was the best way to read anything. All of these Bob fixes may have seemed odd to the rest of us, but truthfully they all worked out for years and we will all miss his creative solutions.

In Bob’s own words, “Merilu, our kids and grandkids, both of our families, the dogs, our neighbors, and many of the people I knew at work made my life whole.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Merilu Fritz, his children, Jason (Denise) Fritz, Holly Fritz, David (Natalie) Fritz, his grandkids Valerie, Gabriel, Michaela, Peter Fritz, & Mia Goodwin, and his siblings Eileen (Raul) Alvarez, Gary (Barb) Fritz, and Terrell Fritz and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to Bob’s favorite charity, Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. https://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/BobFritz

Funeral services will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church on July 3, 2024, with a reception to follow.

St Mary's Catholic Church 6853 S Prince St. Littleton, CO 80120

● 10:00 AM Rosary Prayer
● 10:30 – 11:30AM Funeral Mass
● 11:30 – 1:15PM Reception in church basement

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