Mary Elaine (Carl) Fritz

Services were held Friday, November 1 at 1 p.m. in FBC Tulsa’s main auditorium at 420 South Detroit Avenue, Tulsa, OK.

Please send donations to FBC Tulsa Children's Ministry Account in the name of Mary Fritz, donations can be sent via mail to the address above or online at https://www.tulsafbc.org

Mary Elaine Fritz Obit

Mary Elaine Fritz passed peacefully from the arms of her loved ones into the joy of heaven and the presence of the Lord on Tuesday morning, October 22, 2024. Mary's life was one of generosity, determination, and passion for life. Those who knew her well say she had a kind, gentle soul with a vivacious personality and a loving attitude towards life.

Mary came into the world in Guymon, OK, as the daughter of Eugene and Barbara Carl. She was the eldest of six siblings raised in the Skiatook, OK, area. Both Barbara and Eugene worked outside the home to support their ever-growing family. As a result, Mary became a second mother to her siblings - Patty, Alice, Phyllis, Robert and James. It was not an easy task. Her generosity showed at an early age as she gave all she could to the family.

Mary's faith in God began to grow as her mom taught them about Jesus and brought them to church. Her dad's parents, Don and Hattie Mae Carl, taught them about God and the important things in life. She learned loving kindness from Barbara's mother, Bessie Archer, and the entire Archer family's love for each other.

Mary's love of music came from her mom, and at an early age, Mary would sing with her sisters as a quartet for family gatherings and at church. Mary passed that love for music down to her children, Ian and Zoe, and now eldest granddaughter, Charlotte, who spent one of the last evenings before Mary passed singing Bible songs to her Memaw in the hospital.

Mary attended Skiatook High School and excelled in her classes, especially English and literature. She also sang in choir and performed in multiple choir events and competitions. It was difficult for her to participate in many after-school events because she started working at age 14 and used her paycheck to help support the family. Mary grew into a beautiful, caring young woman with an engaging personality, willing to take on the world for her family and friends.

Mary met Rick Fritz in high school and at work at the Tastee Freeze in Skiatook. They liked each other, became good friends and started dating. Mary was beautiful with an amazing smile, but Rick also admired her fearlessness and lovely soul. They soon fell in love and on November 17, 1971, Rick asked Mary to marry him. This started a long, wonderful journey of love and adventure. They were married on September 1, 1972, at Immanuel Baptist Church in Skiatook and together they attended Oklahoma State University where Mary received a M.A. in Journalism.

Mary fit right into the Fritz family and soon became one of the girls with Rick's sisters, Donna and Audean. Rick's mom and dad, Marilyn and Charlie, loved her like a daughter, and she loved them back, along with the sister-in-law's husbands, Don and Kenneth. She developed a special relationship with Rick's grandmother, "Mom" Shepherd. Mary became a part of the Fritz, Holt and Downing clans and joined in with all of their fellowship, fun and zest for life.

In 1977, Mary and Rick moved to Kingsville, TX, where Rick worked for Exxon as a petroleum geologist while Mary worked for the Kingsville-Bishop News as an investigative reporter. Mary showed her determination by taking on tough assignments like following Border Patrol and DEA agents when they had drug busts. When there was an opportunity to write a story on female Naval air trainees, she volunteered to fly with the instructor in an A-4 training jet, complete with G-Suit, and going through all the flying maneuvers. Mary was fearless in getting the job done.

Mary and Rick moved to Oklahoma City, OK, in 1980, and Mary started working for the Daily Oklahoman as a feature writer for the Women's Section. Two years later, they moved to Tulsa, where Mary worked as a writer for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. As a result of Mary's job and Rick's association with AAPG, they traveled the country and parts of the world together.

In 1982, Mary and Rick joined First Baptist Tulsa. They continued their faith journey through the sermons of Reverend Warren C. Hultgren and other teachers in the church. Mary especially benefited from the teaching of Jean and Virginia Howard. Mary also learned Christian life lessons from friends and mentors such as John and Doris Shelton.

Mary had a great sense of humor coupled with an amazing laugh that charmed all who knew her.  She always joked to people that she married Rick because she thought he was funny and made her laugh.  Kidding aside, they had a deep love for each other that grew and lasted throughout their marriage.  One way Mary showed her love was through serving others.  She had the gift of hospitality and often opened her house up to family and friends.  Many remember the Santa parties Mary and Rick gave for years at their home in Tulsa. To compliment her gift of hospitality, Mary also was a good cook. She learned the art from her mother and Rick’s mother and would pour her love out with her cooking.

Mary was not a stranger to tragedy. As Mary and Rick were preparing to move to Tulsa, Mary's brother, Robert, had a terrible accident that resulted in a serious stroke-like brain injury. Undaunted, Mary did everything she could to take care of her brother. Not long after that, her father had a severe stroke, and her mother later succumbed to disease. Mary helped care for all of them to the best of her ability, often caring for them in her own home.  Through all of this suffering in her family Mary kept her faith in God and looked to the Word for comfort especially Romans 8:28.

In 1992, Mary and Rick's life changed significantly with the adoption of son Ian. To care for him, Mary left journalism and became an independent writer and homemaker. In 1999, her family was complete with the adoption of daughter, Zoe Katherine. This started a new journey of raising children and teaching them about God and the most important things in life. She loved Ian and Zoe dearly.

It was during this time that Mary began her passion for teaching and working with children. She had loved taking care of her siblings and their children. Now, God had given her own children over which she poured out her love. When Ian was in preschool, Mary began to teach regularly in the First Baptist Church children's ministry. For over 30 years, Mary taught children from preschool to 5th grade. She said it gave her purpose and real joy!

Mary is survived by husband Rick Fritz, son Ian Fritz and daughter Zoe McCaslin who is married to Jonathan McCaslin. They have three grandchildren who Mary cherished with all her heart—Charlotte, Christian, and Caroline. Charlotte self-described her Memaw as "her best friend." Mary is also survived by sisters Patty Phillips, Phyliss Lockhart, Alice Lerch and brother-in-law Mike, and brother and sister-in-law James and LaWana Carl. Patty's son and daughter-in-law, Tim and Callie Phillips, with two children, Ava and Maddox. Phyllis' daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and TJ Vaughn, with two children, Trey and Kenzie; daughter Lori Lockhart; and Emmy Lockhart, with daughter Hatttie. James and LaWana's daughter and son-in-law Faith and Riley Riggins, with new baby girl, Ivy Mae, and younger daughter, Hannah. Mary's mother, father and brother, Robert, preceded her in passing.

Mary had great joy for life and poured out her love on those she touched. She loved Jesus and helped many children understand the importance of faith, hope and love. Her family and friends know sorrow now but rejoice that she is in the arms of Jesus and is no longer in need of faith and hope, for she is experiencing pure love and sheer joy!