Fritz was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the second of Charles and Mina’s four smart, adventurous children. They were a musical family, too, one that loved to sing around the piano, in their cars, and in their church choir. Fritz’s strong voice was a fixture in the Goleta Presbyterian Church choir and later at First Presbyterian Church. He played the piano, the trumpet, and “a pretty poor violin.” But he loved having his music nearby, and his books, particularly mysteries. He used to say that anything worth learning you could find in a book. He loved running; he loved the ocean and Shakespeare and the Lakers … the Jerry West years.
Fritz attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, before leaving early to enter the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He went on to serve as a flight surgeon in the navy, stationed at Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego. He was so proud of that time and grateful for the experiences, opportunities, and lifelong friendships he found there. His medical residency was served in Buffalo, New York, but the sunshine called, so he and his wife, Donna, packed the kids in the station wagon and made the journey back west, starting their new life in Solvang and establishing what would develop into a strong, well-respected private practice in obstetrics, gynecology, and infertility.
The importance of each patient motivated Fritz throughout his career. When it became apparent that speaking Spanish would help him serve many of his patients more effectively, he bought Spanish tapes and learned while driving to the office and the hospital. When he was on call, the home phone rang nonstop. Not even the dinner table was safe. And when yardwork called, Fritz slung an oven mitt on a beltloop at his hip to carry the “portable” phone just in case he was needed. By family estimates, he delivered close to 5,000 babies in the county.