Ouida J Fritschi

Ouida Fritschi, age 75, of Homewood, Alabama, passed away on Thursday, July 23rd, with her family at her bedside. She was born and raised in Maumee, Ohio and graduated from Maumee High School. She attended Colorado State University, where she met her husband, Bruno, in 1964. They married in 1968, and lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina while he was stationed at Ft. Bragg. They moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1969, where she graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a B.S. in Psychology. She worked as a medical psychologist at the Drug Abuse Program at UAB with the Child and Youth Program and as a coordinator of Affiliates and Data Collection program. Additionally, she served as a psychometrician and adjunct instructor at UAB and the University of Alabama until the mid-1980s after her third child was born.

At the same time that Ouida was involved with the many associations described below, she tended to her children and Bruno without compromise. She always prepared creative and nutritious dinners, served family style at the dining room table every night. While juggling her civic and political activities and volunteering, she remained an ever-present mom and attended every one of her children’s’ athletic, band or school events.

She was involved in numerous civic activities and volunteered much of her time serving in leadership roles as president of the Alabama Environmental Council; chairman of the Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Citizens Committee; treasurer of the Homewood High School Band boosters; secretary of Alabama NOW; treasurer and then president of Jefferson County NOW; president of Triangle Garden club; and president of the Homewood Citizens Association where she served as editor of the organization’s newsletter for over 30 years. She was instrumental in planning the annual We Love Homewood Day festivities and served as founding member and Vice President of the We Love Homewood Day Committee. She worked passionately and diligently to “Keep the home in Homewood.” She was also a dedicated member of the Homewood Chamber of Commerce, Cahaba River Society; Auntie Litter Board; Progress 280 Task Force; Birmingham - Jefferson County Transit Authority; Southern Area Democratic Club; Advisory task force for Alabama State Social Studies Curriculum; Fresh Air Family Board; Shades Valley Family YMCA of Birmingham; Commodity Distribution in Homewood Committee for Economic Opportunity; and Friends of Shades Creek; where she received Volunteer of the Year. Ouida volunteered for multiple state congressional and presidential campaigns and served as campaign manager for a state senate campaign. She also served in each of her children’s’ school PTOs, sports associations and band boosters. In the late 1990’s Ouida co-owned a radio station, WEDA-FM, which included hosting a weekly show.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Bruno Fritschi and her three children, Jennifer Fritschi (Deborah Hooker) of Washington, D.C., Michael (Beth) Fritschi of Hoover, Alabama and Victoria (Michael) Dinges of Homewood, Alabama, as well as her five grandchildren, Anna and Adam Fritschi and Eliot, Arlo and Scarlet Dinges. She is also survived by her brother Tom (Mary Pat) Gowdy, of Seminole, Florida, and three sisters Nannene Gowdy (Carl Schilling) of Pepperell, Massachusetts, Carla Gowdy of Los Gatos, California and Abbie Gowdy-Chase (Peter Chase) of Westmore, Vermont, as well as many nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held at a later date when it’s safe to have a large in-person gathering. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in her memory to one of the following organizations:

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism https://www.niaaa.nih.gov

Fresh Air Family https://www.freshairfamily.org/

Equal Justice Initiative https://eji.org/