James Fritz

James (Jim) Fritz, 84, a resident of Cleveland, passed away Friday, June 22, 2012. He was born in Baltimore, MD on December 26, 1927. He moved to the Cleveland area eight years ago from San Diego, California. He was a navy veteran and served in both WWII and the Korean War. He was a gunner?s mate First Class aboard the USS Wiltsie DD 716. He received the Navy Occupation Medal, Korean Service Medal, Medal of Good Conduct, Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific and American Area Medal. Jim loved his job; in fact he worked till he was 75 years old as an aircraft engineer. During his career he worked on projects for NASA, Lockheed… When he retired he was helping to design parts for F-18 fighter planes for North Island in San Diego. He worked for San Diego Aircraft Engineering and D-Technologies as a senior design engineer. His hobbies were boating, dune buggies, camping and reading. He loved taking his wife, Betty on cruises with their friends. They just completed their 16th cruise in April 2012. Survivors are his wife of 39 years Betty Fritz of Cleveland; step-daughter, Connie Davis (who he loved dearly) and her husband, Lloyd also of Cleveland. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends. A graveside service will be conducted at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to a charity of your choice. We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Fritz family guestbook at www.ralphbuckner.com.