Paul A. Fritz

1941 - 2022

News story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade staff writer

Paul A. Fritz, a University of Toledo communication professor who inspired students and connected with the community, died Tuesday in Kingston of Sylvania. He was 80.

He had been in declining health for several months and had pneumonia, said his wife, Margaret Fritz.

The Ottawa Hills resident retired in July, 2021 and was a former communication department chairman.

"He was highly respected by all of us, because of his prowess in teaching," said Paulette D. Kilmer, a professor of communication. "The students just loved him."

Among the classes he taught was the basic course required for all majors in the discipline. For about a decade, he also supervised all who taught that course, said Richard Knecht, a former communication department chairman. At least 10 sections of the course were offered at a time, with about 20 students in a class.

Students admired his dedication, Mr. Knecht said.

"He was fastidious about grading. You had to toe the mark," Mr. Knecht said. "I told him personally, 'Even a faculty member deserves a day of rest.' He'd be in the office six out of seven days."

Fatima Shousher Simon, a UT senior lecturer of communication and a faculty member since 1999, said: "He was there night and day to make sure students were well cared for. To enjoy your job the way he did was inspiring."

Mrs. Simon as a student in 1992 changed her major from international relations to communication after taking a class from Mr. Fritz. As a colleague, "he was very supportive, very much so my mentor and often offered advice on different situations in the classroom," she said.

Mr. Fritz received a UT outstanding teacher award in 2009. The provost's office posted testimonials online from nominators, including a student who wrote that "interpersonal communication" was the only class taken with Mr. Fritz, yet "yet it had the most impact of any class I took while at the University of Toledo."

Mr. Fritz said that students in every class asked how they could use the course in the real world.

"To answer that question," Mr. Fritz said in 2009, "I need to visualize the communication problems my students endure and design helpful solutions helpful for them. The best teacher is he who never forgets what it was like to be a student."

A longstanding research interest was how medical personnel communicate with each other and patients. More recently, he investigated doctors' bedside manner and how to help them communicate more effectively, Ms. Kilmer said. A former president of the Ohio Communication Association, he gave workshops to schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

"He was both a scholar and a citizen of the community," Ms. Kilmer said. "He took his education and teaching talents outside of the academy and into the community to help others."

Mr. Fritz was a pioneer in online teaching at UT, Ms. Kilmer said.

Born June 14, 1941, in Dayton to Lola and and the Rev. William Fritz, he was 5 years old when his parents, who were Lutheran missionaries, moved their family to India. The family settled in Wooster, Ohio, several years later, and Mr. Fritz graduated Wooster High School. He received a bachelor's degree from Capital University and traveled the country as a member of Capital's choir.

He became a Lutheran minister, serving as an assistant pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Fremont and, for seven years until 1989, as pastor of First English Lutheran Church in Gibsonburg, Ohio.

"He loved giving sermons, putting together sermons, and I think that's what led him to speech communication," his wife said.

He took Mondays off, but spent the rest of the week composing his sermon.

"He tried to pull in real life into his sermons," his wife said. "And I think that's why a lot of people enjoyed them, because they could relate to them. That helped him in the classroom too."

He received a master's degree and doctorate from Bowling Green State University.

Surviving are his wife, the former Margaret Foster, whom he married July 29, 1973, and son, Jonathan Fritz.

Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at Urbanski Funeral Home, 5055 Secor Rd., where funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday.