E. Dean Fritz

E. Dean Fritz, 79, of Winterset, Iowa died Thursday, February 28, 2013 at his home. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, at Ochiltree Funeral Service in Winterset with a reception to immediately follow at the Jackson Community Building. A visitation will be held 2 to 8 p.m., Monday, March 4, at Ochiltree’s with family present to receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorials may be made in his name. On-line condolences may be made to the family at www.ochiltree.com. Ellwyn Dean Fritz was born March 1, 1933 in Menlo, Iowa; the son of Clarence LeRoy and Evelyn (Cox) Fritz. He graduated from Greenfield High School in 1951 and served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. After his service, he married Lois Hart Thompson with whom he had three children, Jay, Julie and Janeen. He then married Peggy Hager on May 12, 1967 in Lincoln, NE. When he married Peg they became a blended family since Peg had two sons, Mark and Todd, and eventually to this union, two more sons, Jared and Joel joined the family. Dean was a farmer all of his life and like many farmers supported his farming with other income which included owning and operating Fritz Auto Salvage and working at Goodyear Tire in Lincoln, NE as well as Bobst Implement in Earlham. Dean was an amazing mechanic who made and crafted many of the machines he used on his farm. Simply stated, he was a self-taught mechanical engineer. In his youth, Dean raced motorcycles and loved working on them and riding them all of his life. He also loved collecting classic cars and outdoor activities like boating and water skiing. He was member of the Angus Breeder’s Association and was proud of his Angus cattle herd. Dean enjoyed having spirited conversations with others and never shied away from sharing his opinion. He will, however, most of all be remembered as a devoted husband, father and grandfather who loved his family greatly and quietly helped those in need. Those left to honor his memory are his wife, Peg of Winterset; his children, Jay Fritz of Des Moines; Julie (David) Bunch of Indianola; Janeen Fritz of Ankeny; Mark (Lori) Ramsey of Greenfield; Todd (Diane) Ramsey of Greenfield; Jared (Julie) Fritz of Winterset and Buck (Laura) Fritz of Carlisle. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren, Michael (Cindy) Fritz, Sarah (Eric) Updike, Genna Prine, Emily (Tim) Dupuy, Kyle (Jenna) Ramsey, Clay Ramsey, Zachary Fritz, Taylor (Justin) McKeever, Ethan Fritz, Logan Fritz and Clayton Fritz; 7 great-grandchildren, Mickayla, Tristan, Braydon & Connor Fritz, Brenna & Caden Updike, and Emmett McKeever; and two sisters, Rosalie (Frank) Amos of Ames and Marcia (Donald) Lamaak of Early. He was preceded in death by his parents.