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Fitz was a soldier, businessman and funloving prankster

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Thomas Patterson Fitz of Farmington passed away Sept. 2 at the Presbyterian Manor. He was 87 years old and a lifelong business owner in the community.

Fitz was a prominent local businessman, owner and manager of Fitz Chevrolet-Buick in Farmington until it was sold in 1988 and the following year became Auffenberg Chevrolet. His father, Charles Samuel Fitz, started Fitz-Chevrolet in 1936 and owned it until his death in 1960 when Tom and his brother Milton assumed ownership.

Prior to joining the car dealership in 1947, Tom established Tom Fitz Sales, which sold appliances and farm equipment.

Fitz was born May 1, 1921, in St. Louis, the son of Sam Fitz and Lucy (Horton) Fitz. He was preceded in death by his brother Milton and sister Alice Phillips. The Fitz family moved to Farmington from Poplar Bluff in 1936, at the start of Tom’s junior year of high school. He graduated from Farmington High School as president of his senior class in 1939, which he considered one of the biggest honors of his life.

The lifelong businessman was president of the Farmington Chamber of Commerce in 1966 and created the city motto “Farmington - City of Tradition and Progress”. He served two terms as president of the Farmington School Board, and was an active member and past president of the Farmington Kiwanis Club. He was known within the club for going 32 years without missing a meeting. He recently was honored as a 50-year member of that organization. He also was a lifelong member of the Farmington Presbyterian Church, serving as deacon then elder of the church. He also sang in the choir for several decades.

In later years, Tom was a valued regular on the “trivia night” circuit, considered an expert in Farmington history and song lyrics. “He could remember every song since first grade,” son John recalls.

Fitz graduated in 1943 from the University of Missouri-Columbia with honors in business administration, a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the Phi Beta Kappa of the business school. Among his many awards for scholarship and leadership he was chosen for Q.E.B.H., a distinction denoting the top ten seniors selected each year, Blue Key and business manager of the U.M. “Savitar” yearbook. He also won the U.M. intramural singles tennis championship in 1943 and was an active member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Always the prankster, family members told how he and a group of other college students led a cow to the top of the belltower at the university. Officials had to utilize a crane to get the bovine down.

Tom proudly served his country in the 86th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army in World War II. He was among the soldiers who liberated Dachau Concentration Camp. He served in both European and Pacific theaters attaining the rank of First Lieutenant after being a member of the ROTC at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Tom also was a member of the American Legion Post 416 and VFW Post 5896.

His wife, Lois Ann “Tanny” (Rutledge) Fitz, preceded him in death Oct. 25, 2004. He is survived by a daughter, Sally Fitz, a journalist in Chicago, Illinois, and a son, Dr. John Fitz, an ophthalmologist in Farmington, and four grandchildren.

John remembers his dad for the many comical things he did. He recalls stories like the time Tom drove to Chicago to attend an auto dealers conference and later met up with a group of other dealers from the Farmington area who had flew to the event. At the end of the conference the other dealers headed back to the airport to fly home, with Tom tagging along. It was only sometime after the plane left Chicago that Tom realized he had driven to the conference. He later had to fly back to Chicago to pick up his car and drive it back home.

Tom’s grandchildren are Martin, Harrison and Hilary Fitz and Macarthur Morrison. Also surviving him is sister-in-law Martha Rutledge Kaegel of St. Louis County and sister-in-law Barbara Fitz Merseal of Farmington and various other relatives.

The family will receive friends at Cozean Memorial Chapel from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. The funeral service will be Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church. Interment with Military Honors will follow at Hillview Memorial Gardens.

The family requests no flowers but asks that donations be made in memory of Tom Fitz to the Farmington Tennis Coalition, which is raising private money to build and refurbish tennis courts at Farmington High School, or to the Tom Fitz Memorial Concert Series at the Presbyterian Manor.

Dedicated donations can be sent to the Cozean Memorial Chapel at 217 West Columbia Street, Farmington, Missouri 63640.

A video tribute, obituary and online condolences can be found at www.cozeanfuneralhome.com.