Mrs. Mary Jo Fritz

Mary Jovita Fritz (Clark), 87, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully with her children by her side, on March 1, 2024. Mary Jo was a beautiful soul and was always happy to see you, and always had time to talk. To anyone. Anywhere. It became a standing joke over the years, and one of her most enduring qualities. She loved people and in true Irish fashion, had the gift of gab. Mary Jo was born in Kalamazoo Michigan on July 11, 1936, the daughter of the late Thomas and Rosabelle (Elkerton) Clark. She graduated from St. Augustine High School in 1954 and went on to receive both her undergraduate and graduate degree in Education from Western Michigan University. She taught a few years in Three Rivers, MI and the rest of her time teaching was in Stevens Point WI teaching 1st grade. She was a director for Odyssey of the Mind (which became Destination Imagination), refereed swim meets, and was active in many ministries in the catholic church – she especially loved her prayer shawl group. As a teenager, she loved to tell stories about her job working as a telephone operator at Michigan Bell, the same company at which her father worked. She truly enjoyed it. She met the love of her life, Francis Gerald (Gerry) Fritz, on a blind date in Michigan. As the story goes, he asked her out three times and she always had something else going on. If she had remembered Holy Thursday, Gerry would have moved on, and the great love wouldn’t have happened. They celebrated 60 years in Jan 2023. Gerry passed away in Nov 2023. When you hear of someone dying of a broken heart, it’s true. Mary Jo joined Gerry in heaven just four months after his death. Mary Jo had a wonderful life and had so much life inside her. She had luck on her side, which aligned with her birth date of 7/11. She could easily find 4-leaf clovers, won door prizes and bingo, and found money randomly. She had many interests including her Thursday bridge group, traveling, shopping (always looking for a deal), studying genealogy, doing her daily puzzles, flower gardening, blueberry picking, writing stories, and walking. It used to be hard to keep up with her! Above all, Mary Jo had unwavering faith in God. It was her foundation for everything, and we are grateful she passed that faith down to us. Mary Jo wrote and published two children’s stories and one story of miracles on earth. Mary Jo absolutely loved spending time with her family and being involved in all the family adventures together, no matter what it was. She loved her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids with all her heart. She showed interest in all their activities and achievements and helped celebrate everyone’s successes. They were her pride and joy, and she will be deeply missed. Mary Jo is survived by her sons Michael (Joanna) Fritz, Chandler AZ, Paul (Jennifer) Fritz, Las Vegas NV, daughters Kathleen (Jim) Gibson, Sturgeon Bay, Kristin Battaglia (Rick Byrum), Stevens Point and Erin (Dean) Maniscalco, De Pere, WI, 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother Thomas (Wilma) Clark of Eau Claire. Whenever asked how she was doing, Mary Jo would always answer “I am blessed”. But we are the ones who were blessed to have you in our lives and will miss you dearly. Funeral services will be held at St. Bernard Catholic Church on Tuesday March 19. Visitation from 9:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. with a mass starting at 11:00am. In Lieu of flowers and other expressions of sympathy, Mary Jo would love for any donations to be made to Amigos for Christ. She truly disliked the thought of people not having access to clean water in their homes and can be accessed with the following link https://amigosforchrist.org/projects/water-for-chinandega/ or going directly to their website at www.Amigosforchrist.org

Mrs. Mary Jo Fritz

July 11, 1936 - March 1, 2024