Fritz Weresch Obituary, Death – Fritz Frederick Marion Weresch made his appearance in this world on October 6, 2004, in Tacoma, Washington. Fritz has always been recognized by his nickname. His parents, Wes Weresch and Eileen Weresch-Doornink, witnessed a miracle take place as their precious little “Fritzel,” who was born without a functional esophagus, survived and grew and thrived thanks to the loving expertise of the NICU team at Tacoma General Hospital and the attentive, devoted care of his parents.
During the five arduous months that Fritz was hospitalized at Tacoma General, Eileen became what is known as a “honorary NICU nurse.” However, his favorite genuine NICU nurse, who was affectionately known to this day by her full name, “Nurse Sarah,” was a favorite of his until the very end of his life.
His parents met in college, got married young, and then had to wait 18 years before adding a third small human to their “pack.” Fritz is their only child. Even though it didn’t feel like enough time, the next 18 years were going to be some of the best of your life. It was a running joke between Wes and Eileen that they always stated they won the kid lottery. Fritz was a joy to nurture, integrated himself into their life without a hitch, and provided immeasurable enrichment.
The day Fritz was born into this world was “typical Fritz,” meaning it was in some way both incredibly monumental and oddly wonderful. His godfather Rick (yes, the “Rick” in Frederick), referred to his entrance as well as his eventual leaving as the worst-case scenario. Both of these events occurred during the course of the story. But he was quick to add that Fritz had in some way made the greatest possible outcome out of both of these occurrences. Oh Fritz, you are always the ideal connection between two polar opposites! It was during those first few days in the NICU when Fritz’s personality traits became immediately apparent, not only to his parents, but also to the physicians, nurses, and countless visitors who were willing to go through the stringent medical protocol to do so. This was the time when Fritz’s parents first saw him.
Fritz was compassionate, diplomatic, and charming in his own understated manner from the very beginning of their relationship. Fritz had the unique ability to connect with people and then affect their lives in a way that was both profound and significant even when he was just a baby. But what was almost more impressive was his capacity to help other individuals form genuine friendships with one another. This was his ace in the hole until the very end. Fritz was born into a family with a long history of kindness and affection. His grandfather on his mother’s side, Dr. Glenn Doornink, was a revered physician in the Yakima Valley. Over the course of his career, he made a positive impact on a great number of people’s lives by providing both physical and spiritual care for his patients. Paul Weresch is a preacher who comes from his dad’s side of the family and served for a number of years in Eastern Europe behind the iron barrier as a minister.
When Paul and Glenn first met each other in Germany in 1985, they did not only become fast friends; they also became traveling companions and a powerhouse duo, ministering to and providing much needed medical care and supplies to people in those devastated and oppressed countries behind the iron curtain. Paul and Glenn’s mission was to help people in those countries. Fritz was aware of the unique contributions that each of his grandfathers had made to the world. Fritz was able to travel to many of these locations when he was in his teens, and he was able to witness firsthand the results of this legacy of generosity and love that they had collectively shown. After following in these mighty steps, Fritz’s ultimate deed was one of tremendous charity when he gave the gift of life to others by donating an organ.
The journey through life was one that Fritz took alongside his parents; they were inseparable. In Tacoma, where Fritz was raised, his parents took over a former appliance store and converted it into a variety of uses, including Wes’s professional recording studio on one side of the building and Eileen’s law office on the other, as well as a super-cool lounge and gathering area in the middle of the two uses. Fritz spent his formative years in this building. Because both of the boy’s parents were self-employed, there was never a need for a babysitter; however, many friends did stop over to spend time with this wonder child, play music, and hang out with him in this enchanted place.
When Fritz was just two years old, his family uprooted and moved to Wapato when the Weresch pack made the decision to move to the valley to be closer to Eileen’s aging parents.
On the Doornink Fruit Ranch in Parker Heights, Fritz was able to live right at the bottom of the large hill, which brought a great deal of delight to his maternal grandparents. Benefit on the side… relatives in the area! On the Doornink side of the family, Fritz was the 36th of 36 first cousins, the majority of whom lived in the valley. Fritz and his cousins eagerly counted down the days before the annual Doornink Family Reunion, which was held in the style of a camp and lasted for four days. For them, this event was even more exciting than Christmas!
Fritz was the only grandchild on the Weresch side of the family, so his grandparents, as well as his cherished uncles and aunts, doted on him constantly and gave him their undivided attention. Fritz was quite content with this arrangement. Fritz took great pleasure in the love that they shared and, at a young age, obtained a passport so that he could travel to see them and his other relatives in Canada and Europe. (Did we forget to mention that he was pampered??)
They went house hunting when Fritz was three and a half years old, and Wes encouraged them to plant roots in the Valley. While they were house shopping, they “accidently bought a wedding venue,” as Eileen likes to joke. Obviously, there are no occurrences of random chance. Cascade was transformed into Fritz’s house thanks to the collaborative efforts of Eileen, Wes, Nurse Sarah, and the property’s previous owners, Pam and Francis McSharry. It was an answer to a prayer that neither one of us had even said yet. Even Nurse Sarah moved to Yakima to be closer to Fritz and now she lives next door to him. Fritz considered himself extremely fortunate to be able to call Cascade Garden his home, as he would now be able to spend the rest of his life in the most gorgeous, charming, and unique four acres of paradise imaginable. Fritz went to an inappropriately high number of weddings and other celebrations for a child his age.
Fritz spent his childhood alongside a large number of animal and human pack members, including dogs, cats, birds, chickens, and even a very significant opossum. On the other hand, Fritz was completely obsessed with cats. Fritz has had a permanent companion in the form of that black cat ever since the day Frankie was born on his bed, which was fourteen years ago. They were so close to one another that when Fritz had to go to school, Eileen had to get Frankie off the school bus more than once before Frankie figured out that he wasn’t invited to school. Because of how closely they were connected.
Even though Fritz had a large family, he often felt the isolation that comes with being an only child. He had already adopted Nurse Sarah and made her a member of his immediate family. At the age of four, he also became a fully-fledged member of the Fiander family, with Jack and Deborah serving as his second parents and Sam, Gray, and Brandt continuing to serve as his brothers until the very end. Holidays spent together, trips taken as a unit, and a treasure trove of memories! Fritz was a young athlete who competed in track and field for West Valley and swam for the Yakima YAC swim team when he was younger. His parents insisted that he participate in a single season of organized sports, but if you want to know how his seventh-grade basketball season went, you’ll have to attend the memorial service or beg someone to tell you the BEST story about it.
In addition to that, Fritz was a big fan of skiing and golfing in White Pass. (Oh, friend, the snow this year doesn’t seem to miss you so much.) However, playing video games and board games was his “sport” of choice above all others. He gave his opponents no quarter after conducting exhaustive research on the subject. Fritz was a huge fan of Halloween. He threw some of the most enormous Halloween parties and wore some of the most memorable costumes over the years. After all, he did have an outstanding event site at his disposal for the entirety of the planning process. And we’re not even going to begin to discuss all of the birthday and pool parties that have taken place over the years. Oh my.
Fritz was an intelligent man who picked up new things quickly. The few times that he didn’t perform well academically, he made up for it by getting good grades. (Fritz inherited this trait from both of his parents and was a master of putting things off until the last minute.) While he was a senior at West Valley High School, some of the subjects at the school that he particularly enjoyed were German class, public speaking, poetry, and current events. In spite of the fact that he possessed the spirit of an artist, he was adamant about pursuing a career in either teaching mathematics or being a well-known actor.
In point of fact, music was Fritz’s passion. He liked listening to a wide variety of music, and he was good at making music. He was able to play any instrument and make it sound beautiful. As a young boy, he studied the piano. He had only lately learned himself how to play the guitar, and he would serenade anyone who was fortunate enough to listen to him play. In band, he started off playing the trombone, but then switched to the tuba, where he was able to produce the most delectable bottom tones. These tones established a lovely foundation for the incredible music that the band kids created together. It is difficult to put into words how much he enjoyed playing in the marching band; in fact, it almost convinced him to become a music educator. When he was encouraged to give it some thought, he would respond with, “But it’s too much theory, Mom.” Eileen would answer to Child by saying, “But, Child, music theory is just arithmetic,” in an attempt to appeal to Child’s passion of that subject matter.
When the family event business was severely impacted by COVID, Fritz remained steadfast with his family. Fritz was cut off from his contemporaries but nevertheless managed to do very well for himself. The little family struggled financially due to the lack of events, but this was more than compensated for by the wealth of quality time spent together. His “pack” had a memorable summer together, spending days and weeks on end at the Yakima Boat Club on Fritz’s most cherished Rimrock lake. This summer was a treasure for all of them. Fritz played a vital role the following year, when the company could start the process of reopening and when personnel were impossible to recruit. He rallied his high school friends to keep weddings and events working during that particularly difficult return season as well as in the season that followed.
Fritz has the ability to roam and navigate with ease a varied universe. For instance, he could confidently enter the lobby of a five-star hotel carrying his possessions in a reusable shopping bag. This would not be a problem for him. Why? It’s simpler that way, and no one will worry, and you won’t even have to drag out your bags. Always pragmatic and moving in step with the rhythm of his own drum, he follows.
His life was cut short, but it was packed with meaningful events and had a significant impact on the world. Wes and Eileen were not shocked when they saw the numerous linkages and innumerable major events that occurred around the time that he passed away because of the circumstances that surrounded the first months of his life on this world.
There are far too many to list, but they were all miraculous. Fritz possessed a genuine free spirit, and just like genuine free spirits, he defies categorization. The following is a pathetic attempt at attempting to convey Fritz to you through the use of some words. In the first place, Fritz was an honest and devoted friend to anyone who was looking for one. Affectionate, a profound thinker, compassionate, empathetic, non-conformist, gentle, musical, the one who subtly encouraged the shy children to participate and share their thoughts in class, an excellent debater, a proficient German speaker, a teacher at heart, cautious, and a person who is unapologetically in touch with his inner fashionista, as well as a genuine citizen of the world.
He left this world in the same way he entered it, which was by being connected to a variety of tubes and wires. Classic Fritz. He was skilled at both coming in and going out of the room! He was deeply loved by many people.
On November 30, 2022, Fritz was discovered unconscious from unknown but natural reasons, and on December 6, 2022, he was determined to have died from brain damage. Fritz’s decision to become an organ donor and the happiness that this decision brings has received a lot of attention. It was his present to the rest of the world. Freely offered. And his legacy continues to this day.
His parents, Wes Weresch and Eileen Weresch-Doornink, as well as his grandparents, Paul and Betty Weresch, as well as his uncles, Daniel Weresch and his wife Bryn Meadows, and Jonathan Weresch and his wife Jen Erickson, are among those who will remember Fritz after his passing. In addition to Nurse Sarah (Sarah E. McCrory), the Fiander family, and Fritz’s pet cat Frankie, Fritz leaves behind all of these people. On his mother’s side of the family, Fritz has a huge extended family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. These relatives are from the extended Doornink families, the extended Boothman families, and the extended Calhoun families. They all love and care for Fritz very much. Fritz’s grandparents, Glenn and Mary Ellen Doornink, as well as his cousin, Brian Calhoun, passed away before him. Brian’s passing occurred just very recently. On the afternoon of Saturday, April 15, 2023, there will be a Memorial Service as well as a reception conducted at West Valley High School. Everyone is welcome to come.