James Charles Fritsch passed away on On October 5, 2017.

Jim was born on June 4, 1925 in Batesville. His parents were Charlie and Flora Fritsch and he had older brothers, Leon (Fuzz) and John, all deceased.

Jim attended Batesville High School and was a starting basketball player (his jersey #21 since retired) on the 1943 Batesville Bulldog semi-state champion team that played in the final game of the State Basketball tourney. He was an Indiana Basketball ‘All Star.’

Following high school he joined the U.S. Air Force, graduating top in his navigating class and was retained in the States to train other navigators during WWII.  After the war, he was granted a scholarship at Notre Dame University playing basketball. He graduated in 1950 with highest honors.

He married Dolores (Dee) Lechtanski on April 15,1950. They returned to Batesville and raised their five children. Jim was the national sales manager for Romweber Furniture until he retired.

For decades Jim served his community which he dubbed ‘the Best Little City in America.’ He served one term as City Councilman and two terms as Mayor. During his tenure he was responsible for building the Heritage House and Golden Villa in Batesville. He was honored in Washington D.C. by President George H. Bush for ‘Hoosier of the Year.’ He served on the board of Council on Aging, now known as Lifetime Resources. He was a longtime member of Knights of Columbus and the American Legion.

On the softer side of Jim, he loved and adored his wife Dee until the last day of his life. He embraced a strong Catholic foundation which always guided him in his community service and strong family values that he passed in to his children. He loved dogs, horses, and ‘bush hogging’ on his farm, and later enjoyed keeping his lawn perfectly manicured.

His survivors (with the nicknames he called them) include wife Dolores (Woo), children Deborah Perkins ( Punky), Karen Fritsch-Neckar (Ponch), Jim (Moose), Bill (Bear), and Janet (Szuba Jan) Fritsch, grandchildren Phillip Perkins (Snickerfritz) , Jackie Fritsch(Snickerdoodle), and great grandchildren Abbey (Punkydoodle) and Marisa (Pinky) Perkins.

Visitation is Monday, October 9^th, from 3 – 6 p.m. at the Weigel Funeral Home with a rosary service at 3 p.m.  Funeral services are 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 10^th, at St. Louis Church with Rev. Michael Fritsch officiating.  Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military honors conducted by the Prell-Bland American Legion Post #271 and the Batesville V.F.W. Post #3183.  The family requests memorials to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or  Lil Kennel Schol