Larry Lee Fritz, 85, of New Lisbon, Wisconsin passed away peacefully on March 3, 2026 at the Veteran’s Medical Center in Tomah, Wisconsin after short stay with complications of dementia. 

 

Larry was born on July 15, 1940 in New London, Wisconsin and grew up in Oconto, Wisconsin where he graduated from high school in 1958.  He spent nearly six years as an Ordinary Seaman sailing the Great Lakes primarily aboard the vessel Richard J Reiss.  In 1963 he volunteered for the draft and spent two years in the Army as a member of the 82nd Airborne Unit at Forts Benning and Bragg with thirty-two weeks at Fort Sam Houston in the Special Forces medical field school. He had an honorable discharge from the service in 1966 and then enrolled at UW-Whitewater and graduated with the help of the GI Bill in 1969 with a degree in Business Administration.  During this time he also became a private pilot and received a certificate as an airframe and power plant mechanic.

He married the former Karen Riewe, his high school sweetheart, on September 3, 1966 and their two children, Eric and Victoria, were born in Fond du Lac where he was employed in sales at Brenner Stainless Steel.  They moved to Mauston in 1974 where he was the sales manager for new products at Walker Stainless & Equipment Company in New Lisbon before retiring in 1998.

Larry was an avid golfer and a long-time member of Castle Rock Golf Course in New Lisbon.  He was also a sports fan and enjoyed watching the Packers every week as well as betting on horse racing and other sports.  He loved working with his tools in the basement, loved all dogs and both he and Karen like to travel, taking frequent trips to Las Vegas and around the country visiting friends and sightseeing at National Parks.

Larry is survived by Karen, his wife of 59 years, his son Eric (Amy) of St. Paul, Minnesota and daughter Victoria (Rocky) of Henderson, Nevada, brother-in-law Tom Riewe (Julie), their sons Jason (Meg) and Kyle (Margaux) and their children, Emma and Finn.   He was preceded in death by his parents, Gaylerd and Lorraine Fritz, and in-laws, Victor and Elizabeth Riewe and brother-in-law John Riewe. 

The family would like to thank the staff at the VA Medical Center for their wonderful care and compassion.

Services will be held at Bethany Lutheran Church in Mauston on Saturday, March 14 with a visitation at 9:30 until the service at 11:00.  A luncheon will follow the service. 

Memorials designated to Bethany Memorial Foundation or the Carl Nelson Animal Shelter