Fritz H. Windhorst

1935 - 2023

Fritz H. Windhorst, the youngest-ever United States Commissioner and a five-term Louisiana State Senator, passed away on August 27, 2023, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 88 years old. Throughout his life, he built geographical, political and social bridges and advanced the economic and political power of the Westbank of the Greater New Orleans Region. Born January 31, 1935, from humble beginnings, he grew up in the Irish Channel of New Orleans and became a self-made man and pioneer. He attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School and graduated from Redemptorist High School (1952). Fritz taught himself to become a great orator, modeled after his hero Winston Churchill. From 1955 to 1961, Windhorst worked as court clerk and court crier for his mentor, the Honorable Herbert W. Christenberry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District. At Christenberry's encouragement, Windhorst completed Loyola Law School night classes in 1962. As Chairman of the National Association of United States Commissioners Legislative Committee, Windhorst led the drafting and passage of the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968. In 1972, Windhorst was elected to the Louisiana State Senate by defeating an incumbent and served for 20 years. He represented the Westbank area of Greater New Orleans and was the first Louisiana legislator with a district including both Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. After just his first Legislative Session in 1972, the Alliance for Good Government named Windhorst its first Legislator of the Year. In 1985, Windhorst (a Democrat) joined the Republican Party. During a 1986 meeting with President Ronald Reagan, Windhorst got Reagan to help him propose to Barbara Turner, which Reagan later memorialized in a personal letter. Windhorst, a devout Roman Catholic, became a Catholic knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2011 and was awarded the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion in 2015. The Honorable Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District remembers Windhorst as "a friend and man of faith. By his example, legislation, and personal conduct, Fritz has certainly improved the lives of many people." He was preceded in death by his parents Jennie Motto Windhorst and Richard Edward Windhorst Sr. and sister Angela Windhorst Tripkovich and his mother-in-love, Lillie Mae Turner. He is survived by his loving wife Barbara Turner Windhorst (his Honey Muffin); children Judith Windhorst Cahill (Chip), Stephanie Hildebrandt (Scott), and Judge Stephen J. Windhorst; grandchildren Harry Lloyd Cahill IV (Maggie), Anna Marie Cahill, Luke John Cahill, Claire Hildebrandt Robustelli (Tim), and Chase Edward Hildebrandt; and great-grandchildren Harry Lloyd Cahill V (Quinn) and Rex Patrick Cahill. He is also survived by his brother Richard E. (Joann) Windhorst Jr. He considered his assistant Edna Brady Centola and his sitters, Edward Simmons and Delores Douglas, as members of his family. Services will be Saturday, September 2, 2023, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church at 444 Metairie Road in Metairie, Louisiana, with visitation starting at 9:00 a.m. and a funeral Mass 11:00 a.m. Burial and a reception will follow at Saint Joseph Abbey at 75376 River Road in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Saint Joseph Abbey.