Charles Fritz

Charles Fritz is predeceased by his wife, Rita Fritz , survived by his older brother Walter Fritz of Buenos Aires, son Paul Fritz of Newburgh, NY, son K. Peter Fritz and grandchildren Colin and Caroline all of Golden, CO. Charles was born Karl Gerhard Fritz and was known by several names, Chuck to those he worked and volunteered with, Karl to his wife, and Gerhard to his parents and brother. Gerhard was born a German citizen in Shanghai China. He lived in a German community that primarily supported a German dye factory near the Forbidden City. The German schools he attended in China closed after WW2 and then they attended a French school and subsequently an English speaking school. Around 1948 the communists in China forced the non-Chinese to find refuge or be put to death. Both Gerhard and his brother Walter were rescued and adopted by the Catholic Church and brought to Gonzaga University where they attended college. Along the way, Karl Gerhard became Charles Gerhard. After college, Charles went on to receive his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Washington. From there Charles got a job teaching in Winona Minnesota where he met Rita. Karl and Rita married and moved to Wilmington Delaware to work for DuPont's Experimental Station. At that time DuPont's engineers and chemists were developing hundreds of materials that would become part of the world's future such as Teflon, Nylon, and Kevlar. Chuck developed something as important as any of these materials: the first synthetic absorbable suture. DuPont sold the patents for this material to Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson; and so in 1969, Chuck moved his family to Basking Ridge New Jersey to continue to develop this product. The suture material was given the trade name Vicryl. It is still used in nearly every operating room around the world. Chuck worked for Ethicon until 1994 when he retired. He stayed active as a consultant for several years after that. Chuck was recognized in 1997 by the Society of Plastics Engineers when they honored him with the John W. Hyatt Award for Service to Humankind for developing Vicryl. He was passionate about the Boy Scouts where he volunteered for over 35 years. While he took on many roles , it seemed as though his greatest joy was organizing and leading Woodbadge courses where he trained Scoutmasters to be better leaders. He greatly enjoyed classical music and stayed active playing tennis and gardening, two of his greatest joys.

Chuck passed away in Denver, Colorado. His smile and wit are deeply missed. No services will be held. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ or to the Boy Scouts of America.