Anthony Walter Fragale

We bid farewell to Butch Fragale, who passed away surrounded by his beloved family. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia to Brenda and AJ Fragale, Butch earned his Bachelor of Science at Wheeling Jesuit University before moving to Florida to attend graduate school at Florida State University (FSU). While at FSU, he met his wife Zivana. They left Florida after the birth of their son Augustin and eventually settled in Silver Spring, Maryland, where they welcomed their daughter Lana.

Butch began working as a chemist but found his calling as a computer programmer. He spent the last two decades as a software developer at Esri, a geographic information system software company. Many of his coworkers became close friends over the years. He enjoyed his work and worked full-time, up until the week of his passing.

In his free time, Butch loved spending time with his family, and in parallel he developed passions for new hobbies - fishing, poker, music, anime, motorcycles. Butch and Zivana relished their weekly outings, enjoying good food as a family. Neighbors can attest Butch was often seen (and heard!) happily riding his motorcycles throughout his 8-year cancer journey.

Butch was a loving son, husband, father, and friend. Even those who met him only a couple of times shared that they found him to be kind and funny; one of those people that you just like instantly, a real cool dude. He was a remarkable man with an [apparently] widely appreciated dry sense of humor and zest for living. He gave generously to all in his life.

From a young age, Butch loved the outdoors, as one may growing up around Wheeling, West Virginia. His childhood included exuberantly long bike rides, riding dirt bikes, finding swimming holes, and hanging out with friends. He carried this love throughout his life, making time to observe wildlife out of windows and ride through beautiful scenery near and far.

Butch expanded his surroundings significantly after he met his wife, Zivana. She spurred his love for the country she came from, Croatia. They took family trips to Croatia as often as possible. Butch enjoyed Zagreb’s cafe culture and old town architecture, loved meeting Zivana’s friends, and carrying his kids on his shoulders on their travels when they were young. Together, Butch and his family regularly visited Croatian coast’s rock beaches, ancient towns, steep mountains rising out of the sea, beautiful sunsets, and filled their days with scenic boat rides between various islands.

Butch consistently encouraged his daughter Lana to pursue her passions in art. She always understood that his support did not come from any feeling of obligation, but from a genuine interest and curiosity about her art. Lana and Butch enjoyed comparing their creative processes between her art and his programming. They found similarities in their work and took each other's advice. Lana will always be grateful for her daddy’s willingness to listen to her, and appreciate what she was creating, even when out of his comfort zone. It was this acceptance of her and her art that inspired Lana’s current confidence and drive.

Butch also shaped his son Augustin (a.k.a. Tino), and his son shaped him. Tino fondly remembers many loud and frustrating arguments with his daddy. They argued about whatever, wherever. Often around topics such as health, housework, Tino’s career path, human nature, and random philosophical bs. You may be thinking ‘what is there to remember fondly about arguing?’ It was the way Butch’s beliefs changed from listening to his son from one argument to the next. And Tino grew to appreciate sharing and receiving direct and honest feedback.

For example, when Tino was in junior year of high school, his primary interest was bodybuilding, and he wanted to start a gym. At the same time, Zivana and Tino had been touring colleges. While both parents were interested in having their child attend college, months of dinner table conversations had gradually moved them. Eventually, Butch offered to help fund a gym for Tino to run instead of attending college. This was one of many times Tino noticed how his dad changed, though he appeared to be contrarian and stubborn. As with Lana, Butch’s support also made Tino feel confident. In the end, those same conversations choosing between a gym and college persuaded Tino to attend college and study intensely. While arguments between Butch and Tino weren’t always fun, they seeded in Tino a deep belief that people often change with patience, honest feedback, and genuine support.

Butch is already terribly missed by his loved ones: his wife of 29 years Zivana Tezak-Fragale, son Augustin Fragale, daughter Lana Fragale, parents Brenda and AJ Fragale, sister Dawn Sutton, daughter-in-law Devorah Stavisky, niece Brianna Sutton, mother-in-law Djurdjica Tezak, brother-in-law Tomislav Tezak, family friend Darshan Patel, and brother-in-law Brian Sutton.

A celebration of his life and legacy will be hosted on Saturday, March 1st starting at 5 pm EST at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD.

Giving in Butch’s Memory

Butch participated in three different cancer clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) over the last several years, which ran out of the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Butch and his family appreciated the opportunity to participate in NCI’s clinical research trials, which included free treatments and the incredible support of the amazing medical teams at the NIH Clinical Center.

His family has been looking for a way to support the NCI clinical trial divisions that, along his supportive primary oncology team, gave them years of extra time with Butch. There is no direct way to donate specifically to NCI clinical trials. However, donating to the options listed below can help patients participating in clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center who are not local to the DMV and need a place for their loved ones to stay while they receive medical treatment.

To celebrate Butch’s memory, in lieu of flowers family ask that gifts be made to the Friends of Patients at the NIH in memory of Butch Fragale here:

https://friendsatnih.networkforgood.com/projects/15330-donation-page

When making a gift you may want to select that your gift is a memorial and enter Butch Fragale in the “Whom do you want to recognize?”