Bruce D. Fritchman

Bruce D. Fritchman, 84, of Springfield Township, Bucks County, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 9, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. The son of Walter K. Fritchman and Estelle (Frederick) Fritchman, he was the husband of Judith (Weight) Fritchman. Together they enjoyed 61 years of marriage. Bruce graduated from William Allen High School, and Lehigh University, where he received Bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics in 1960 and 1961 respectively, the MS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1963, and the PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1967. He joined Philco-Ford Corporation in 1963 where he became a member of the Advanced Engineering and Research Activity of the Communication and Electronics Division. From 1963 to 1968 he was primarily engaged in the application of coding and statistical detection techniques in communication channels having memory. In 1968 he became a Laboratory Manager, having responsibility for the advanced development of data transmission techniques. In 1969 he joined the faculty of Lehigh University as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering department and completed his Master's and PhD degrees. He became Associate Professor in 1972 and Full Professor in 1981, teaching Information Technology and Digital signal Processing. In 1986 he was named Assistant vice President of Computing and Communication Services, responsible for planning and operational support for academic, administrative, and all university communications technology. Concurrently, he became the Lehigh Representative and one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Statewide Network which provided Internet Connectivity to institutions in Pennsylvania (PREPnet). He was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and IEEE, a reviewer for Communications Transactions and Information Theory Transactions of IEEE, and a former Vice President of the Philadelphia Section of the Information Theory Society. In 1915 he returned to the Electrical Engineering Department as Full Professor of undergraduate and graduate courses. In 1998 he was named Chairman of the EE Department, until his retirement in 2008. Bruce loved and protected the rural environment of his home in Bucks County where he served on the Springfield Township Planning Commission for many years. As a devoted father and educator, he enjoyed exploring the country on trips with his family. He is greatly missed by his daughter, Susannah, and husband John C. Butler of Mt. Airy, MD; son, Christopher M. Fritchman, and wife Patricia of Zionsville, PA; grandchildren Kaitlin, Jacob, and Nicholas Butler, Hannah and Elijah Fritchman; his sister and brother-in law, Lois and Paul Yorty, of Twin Falls Idaho; his sister in law, Prudence Branton, of New Tripoli, and many cousins, nephews and nieces. The family wishes to thank the staff of St. Luke's Hospice for their skilled and compassionate care. The family will gather and share memories at a private celebration of Bruce's life. To leave online condolences, please visit his "Book of Memories" at falkfuneralhomes.com In lieu of flowers, donations to the Parkinson's Foundation, 200 SE 1st Street Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131 are suggested.