Arthur "Jay" Fritz

ARTHUR JOSEPH FRITZ, JR.

By Arthur Joseph Fritz, III

My father showed that he loved me in many ways. He provided a wonderful family, home, education, a love of God and opportunities to do almost anything. But it took a long time for me to learn just how deeply that love ran within him.

Ironically, the moment came the night before his father's funeral where he was to give the eulogy. It was late. The house was asleep except for the two of us. So, he asked me to listen to what he had written about Papa. To this day, I can't remember one word of what he said. All I remember is how hard he cried, and the love that poured out of him. That is when I saw how love affected everything about his life.

Last night we heard repeatedly that Jay Fritz acted without thought of praise or reward. And although he was a wealthy man, he wasn't motivated by money. Dad once said to me… "Tri, do what you love in life, because you can make money at anything. You can be a garbage man for all I care. I just want to make sure you are a good garbage man. Because good garbage men get raises, they get promoted, they become supervisors and management, and eventually you're running the place…" For him, money was a by-product of success. They key is caring enough about what you do to be successful.

Love is the key. It's hard to see that when you are young. In the movies we're told that love makes us do crazy things. But as you grow in years and experience you realize that's not true. Lust makes us do crazy things. Infatuation is what distracts us. Love clarifies, love inspires, love focuses the energies we have. Love makes us do more. Love makes us be more.

Love made Dad's life, and love saved his life. The cancer Jay had in his thirties didn't have a remedy. His doctor told him that medicine could only do half the job. His body had to provide the rest of the cure. To survive he had to make his entire body believe it was going to get better. How did he do that? He asked for God's love, and he offered his love back to God. Night after night we knelt down as a family, rubbed water from Lourdes on his surgical scars and prayed. Jay Fritz offered himself up to God, and God delivered him back to us for another forty years, and Jay thanked God by returning to Lourdes year after year in order to help others in need.

So the secret to a man so successful in all walks of life is that he loved. Jay Fritz was a great student because he loved school. He loved business. He loved the Catholic Church, the Order of Malta, San Francisco, the Olympic Club, the 49ers, father-daughter dances, the Sound of Music and peanut brittle… and he loved ME! And he loved you. Yes, he loved every one of you.

If Dad knew you at school – St. Vincent De Paul, St. Ignatius, Dartmouth, Stanford – he loved you.

If you grew up with him or were a teammate on a basketball court, swimming pool or golf course – he loved you.

If he ever knew you in business – whether in Fritz Companies, Fritz Cellars, or any of a hundred other Boards or ventures – he loved you.

If he knew you as a friend from the City, the Wine Country, Palm Springs or ever joined the family for dinner at La Barca – he loved you.

If he knew you from a Mass, and you stopped to say hello… he loved you.

If you were part of his family – daughter, son, brother, sister, niece, nephew, in-law, grandchild, godchild – he loved you.

If you were his wife… he loved you most of all.

God created the world because he loved us. Christ endured the cross because he loved us. Fr. Xavier said that Dad asked how he could become closer to Christ? In his passing, I think we can realize just how close Jay Fritz came.

On December 30, 2014, Arthur Joseph Fritz, Jr. passed away peacefully at home with his wife of 46 years, Barbara, at his side.

Jay, as he was known to family and friends, was born in 1940 to Arthur Joseph and Emily Sue Fritz, the oldest of three children including brother, Lynn, and sister, Sandra Davis.

A devoted husband and father, Jay married Barbara Frances Carr in 1968. Together they had three children: Arthur (Tri), Clayton and Jenner; who gave them seven grandchildren – Ainsley, Buchannon, Sarah, Audrey, Bianca, Georgia and Leonardo – to routinely spoil.

A life-long San Francisco resident, Jay graduated from St. Vincent De Paul Grammar School, St. Ignatius High School, Dartmouth College (cum laude) and Stanford Law School.

In 1966, not long after passing the California Bar, Jay joined Fritz Companies, an international transportation service firm started by his father. Heading up the air freight division, Jay oversaw a ten-fold increase in revenue in just three years before selling the division to Del Monte.

Jay was named President of Fritz Companies in 1971. In 1986, he would be named Chairman of the company. That same year, Jay was elected President of the National Association of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders of America, a worldwide organization representing over 1, 500 firms in the industry. By his retirement in 1988, Fritz Companies was the leading firm of its type in the world, with over 50 offices and 2, 000 employees.

Upon his retirement, Jay began serving on the boards of numerous transportation and start-up firms. He was also able to concentrate full-time on Fritz Cellars, a Sonoma County winery he founded in 1979. From humble beginnings knocking on the doors of local restaurants, Jay found success again, building Fritz Cellars into a thriving, award-winning business selling over 25, 000 cases annually. In 2001, Jay turned the reins of Fritz Cellars over to his son Clayton, who continues to make wine under the Fritz Winery label.

Socially, Jay was a member of the Pacific Union Club, Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, CA, and the Vintage Club in Indian Wells, CA. However, closest to his heart was The Olympic Club. Jay practically grew up on Post St. swimming laps daily, playing on club teams and amassing a closet-full of trophies from wrestling to the club's annual Mississippi Swim. It was at Olympic Club–Lakeside that he discovered his love for the game of golf. Jay would later serve as an Olympic Club Officer and Director.

Dedicated to service beyond him, Jay's charitable works are almost too many to mention. He was extremely proud to be named a member of the Board of Regents at his alma mater, St. Ignatius, where he greatly improved the school's endowment and served as a key architect in its transition to co-education. In 1996, Jay was awarded the Christ The King Award. The highest honor offered by the school.

While fighting a life-threatening form of cancer in his late thirties, Jay was invited to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France as a malade with the Order of Malta. So taken with their devotion to the sick and the poor, Jay became a Knight of St. John himself and would return to Lourdes annually and serve other malades in their journey for spiritual and physical healing. His contributions to the Order in service of the sick and the poor culminated in taking vows as a Knight of Obedience.

Jay contributed additional service time as a member of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Stewards of St. Peter, Legatus, Daughters of Charity Advisory Board, Cathedral School for Boys Board of Trustees and Santa Catalina School Board of Trustees. In 1995, he and his wife founded the Barbara and Jay Fritz Charitable Foundation which supports numerous worthy organizations with an emphasis on helping children in need. In years past, Jay could also be found working the Christmas tree lot at Fort Mason as a Guardsman.

A man of great wisdom and accomplishment, with a deep and abiding love for his family and God, Jay Fritz will be missed by all who knew him.

Friends and relatives are invited to St. Dominic's Church, 2390 Bush St. in San Francisco, on January 6th at 6:30 p.m. for a Viewing followed by a Rosary Vigil, and on January 7th at 11:30 a.m. for a Funeral Mass with reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to "Mission Dolores Academy Scholarship Fund," 3371 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114.