Delia Vail Fritz

On Monday, November 27, 2023, Delia Vail Fritz passed peacefully in her sleep at her home in Flanders, New Jersey. Delia was the best grandmother in the entire world (no exaggeration), an avid flyfisher, a teacher of all things, and just generally amazing.
Delia was born in Princeton, New Jersey to Katherine Cummer Vail and Herman Lansing Vail, Jr. She was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, attended Hathaway Brown School and Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. After she graduated from college, she moved to Hackettstown, NJ for her first teaching job at the American Christian School. In Hackettstown, Delia met and married her husband of 25 years, Mervin L. Fritz. Delia was a natural-born teacher. She cherished sharing her love of history and learning with her students. Delia taught many years within the Hackettstown school system with the most years at the Hackettstown Middle School. Delia also managed the pool at Centenary University and the Hackettstown Community Pool. Delia was an active member of Emmanuel Bible Church and served on a number of committees throughout her life including the Hackettstown Historic Preservation Commission, the PTA, and Schooley's Mountain Kennel Club.
If you knew Delia, you'd know her passion was fly fishing. Delia was a member of a trout club in Michigan and has taught family and friends how to fly fish. She enjoyed trips to Yellowstone and the Bahamas for fishing expeditions and her happiest days were spent on the stream. She volunteered her time with Casting for Recovery, an organization promoting fly fishing with women who are recovering from breast cancer.
While Delia grew up in Shaker Heights, she spent summers with her family at Columbus Beach Club in Indian River, Michigan. She lived for packing the car and driving to Michigan to smell the sweetgrass, watch the sunsets over the lake in the evenings, fish the streams, and sit on the porch with friends while she tied her own flies. Her friends in Michigan became her chosen family throughout her life and she will be missed dearly.
Delia's greatest love was her grandchildren. Everyone who knew her, probably knew the most about her two beautiful grandchildren. Delia will be missed by her daughter Delia "Lia" Fritz Carruthers (Christopher L. Carruthers), granddaughters Vail Carruthers and Scout Carruthers, brother Robert Lansing Vail (Lynn Vail), and nieces Kristen Vail Connell (Jesse Connell) and Victoria Vail. She was predeceased by her husband Mervin Laten Fritz, her sister Marienne Vail McCausland, and her parents Katherine Cummer Vail and Herman Lansing Vail, Jr.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Little Traverse Conservancy (https://landtrust.org/memorial-or-honorarium/donation-form-memorial/) or Casting for Recovery http://weblink.donorperfect.com/nj.
A visitation will be held at Cochran Funeral Home on Saturday, December 2, 2023 from 4:00 PM-7:30 PM with the memorial service immediately following at 7:30 PM.
For those wishing to leave online condolences, please visit www.cochranfuneral.com