Fredrick Rector Jr. (Fritz) was born to Fredrick and Eleanor Rector in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1942. In his early childhood, he and his sister, Nancy, with their parents moved to Evanston, Illinois. It was in Evanston that Fritz joined the Boy Scouts of America and went on to become an Eagle Scout. This early accomplishment remained one of his proudest throughout his life. During his scouting years Fritz became an expert marksman which established a lifelong love of target shooting. As Fritz was entering high school, the family moved once more to Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He attended Grosse Pointe South High School graduating in 1961.

In 1961, Fritz began his undergraduate education at Kalamazoo College. His area of study was chemistry with an eye towards becoming a research chemist. During the summers in Kalamazoo Fritz worked for the conservation department doing maintenance on the parks in Michigan. He had many funny stories about those summers and the lessons he learned were a frequent source of conversation.  In his final year at Kalamazoo one of his professors suggested that he apply to medical school.  This was not in his plan, but Fritz decided to throw his hat in and was accepted to Wayne State University (WSU) Medical School. This decision would change the course of direction for his entire life.

Between 1965 and 1969, Fritz Rector earned his M.D. from WSU and chose general surgery as his speciality. With his extreme schedule of his studies and work at the hospital and little time for anything else, it was no surprise when a pretty red-headed nurse in her last year of training caught his eye in his last year of medical school. He asked Anne Hirzel out and after a whirlwind romance consisting of a lot of study dates, they married in July of 1969. With both Fritz and Anne having passed their boards and ready for the next steps, they decided to accept a 5-year surgical residency position at WSU Receiving Hospital. Anne continued to work as a nurse until 1971 when they welcomed their first child, Gretchen Lynn. While Anne kept the home fires burning Fritz served as Chief Resident for the last two years of his fellowship. Their next daughter, Rebecca Anne, would join the family in 1974. It was also 1974 when Fritz was again approached by his mentor to continue his training in pediatric surgery.  He accepted the challenge and completed a second fellowship at The Children's Hospital of Michigan in 1976.

As a double board-certified surgeon, the Rector family was ready to find a permanent position and began life in Asheville, N.C. Fritz set up in private practice in the small mountain town and began his surgical career at Mission Memorial Hospital. He was the only pediatric surgeon in the Blue Ridge area and quickly built a formidable reputation with his colleagues and patient families. Fredrick Matthew was born in 1977 in Asheville and family was complete. They would remain in Asheville until 1985. During the decade he worked in Asheville, Fritz was Chief of Surgery at Mission Memorial, saved thousands of children, and became well known in the national surgical communities for his exceptional surgical skills. He was published in many journals, taught numbers of residents, and authored several book chapters. Having established himself in the medical community, he felt it was time to move on to new challenges.

In 1985, Fritz joined an established private practice at St. John's Hospital of Detroit and Children's Hospital of Michigan. He continued his noble work saving children and giving families hope for another two and a half decades. Realizing that it was time to hang up his surgical mask and not ready for full retirement, Fritz accepted the role of Vice President at Children's Hospital.  A few years later, Anne convinced him to fully retire.

Having raised their three children, the two of them began to enjoy their life together.  They were avid world travelers and partial to Northern Europe spent many enjoyable trips with their good friends. Fritz picked up his favorite hobby again as a Bench Rest Shooter and won many awards for his marksmanship. Always a lover of dogs, Fritz and Anne always had at least one by their side. Their love of Bernese Mountain Dogs was unmatched but were quick to give a home to a couple of Great White Pyrenees as well. Having been a voracious reader his entire life, Fritz continued his love of history, religion, and spy novels even more so later in life.

Fritz and Anne heard the Blue Ridge Mountains calling and returned to North Carolina. They bought a house on a mountain top and enjoyed life together in Brevard until Anne's death in 2019. Alone now, Fritz moved to Louisville, Kentucky to be closer to Rebecca and to have someone who was able to help care for him. On 29 December 2024 at age 82, Fritz passed away.

Cherished husband of the late Anne Hirzel. He is survived by his three children Gretchen, Becky, and Matthew, and his loving sister Nancy (Rector) Brown.

A memorial service to be held in th up coming weeks.  Contributions in his memory can be made to the Children's Hospital of Michigan - Medical Education Fund , or to https://www.justgiving.com/page/gretchen-jonker-1736351388283 .

Online condolences may be left at www.moodyconnollyfuneralhome.com.

Moody Connolly Funeral Home is caring for the family.