Howard Minier Fritsche

Howard Minier Fritsche, 96, of Port Clinton, died Wednesday, December 17, 2008, in Otterbein-North Shore Retirement Community, Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio. He was born November 15, 1912, on the family farm in Erie Township to Edward and Della Minier Fritsche. On August 23, 1942, in Aberdeen, Maryland, he married Ann V. Kupi, and she preceded him in death April 17, 1995. He farmed on the family farm with his brothers and was an avid gardener himself. He retired from the former Erie Army Depot in Port Clinton. Howard was the oldest member of LaPointe United Methodist Church of Port Clinton and the Oliver H. Perry Masonic Lodge #341 F. A.M. He had also been a member of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Toledo, and a member of the American Legion Post #113 in Port Clinton, having served in the U.S. Army during WWII. Howard is survived by his nieces, Barbara Wade of Atlanta, GA, Kathleen Fritchie of Ostrander, OH, Ruth Lefebvre of Mentor, OH, and nephew, Robert Phillips of Mission Hills, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Ann, siblings, Willard and Robert Fritsche, and Doris Beatty, and nieces, Mary Ellen Niemeyer and Jean Conner, and nephews, Walter and Robert Beatty and Edward John Fritsche. The funeral service will be conducted 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 20, 2008, in LaPointe United Methodist Church, Port Clinton, with a Masonic service prior to the funeral service. Visitation will be one hour from 10-11 a.m. at the church. Interment will take place in LaCarpe Cemetery. Memorials for Howard may be directed to LaPointe United Methodist Church or the Otterbein-North Shore facility. Arrangements have been handled by the Robinson-Walker Funeral Home Crematory, Oak Harbor.