Stanley Dean Fritz

Stanley Dean Fritz was born June 24, 1949 in Niobrara, Nebraska to Joe and Doris Fritz. He spent his youth in Niobrara and loved fishing, swimming in the state park, coon hunting and horseback riding.

He enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school and spent 4 years in the service stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and in Spain. Upon his discharge, Stanley attended Wayne State College for 2 years and finished his degree at Norfolk Tech.

On October 1, 1971, he married his high school sweetheart, Colleen Nielsen and together they raised 5 children.

Stanley was an excellent carpenter and contractor. To this day, there are many homes in the Norfolk, Nebraska area that have Stanley’s expertise craftsmanship in them. Some, of which, he built from the ground up. It was his passion and he was good at it.

Stanley moved his family to Mesa, Arizona in 1985 where he operated his custom trim business. He passed down years of expertise and experience to his 4 sons who, still today, carry on his legacy.

In addition to his work, he was a family man. He loved watching all his children play baseball and basketball and spending time with his family. Stanley was a diehard Nebraska Cornhuskers fan and a New York Yankees fan as well. He enjoyed sitting back with a bowl of popcorn and a cold beer while watching his teams play. Stanley also enjoyed traveling back home to Nebraska, vacation getaways to Las Vegas, Laughlin and numerous other places. His smile was contagious. He loved to laugh, playfully tease and simply have fun.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Colleen, children: Corey and his wife Chandra Fritz, Angela and her husband Vince Balistrieri, Casey Fritz, Tyler and his wife Dana Fritz, Tayler and his wife Rignon Fritz, Fourteen grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, his sister Phyllis and her husband Doug, his brother Gary and his wife Deanna, numerous cousins and a multitude of family and friends.

He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. His presence will be missed dearly.

“to live in the hearts of others is to never die”