JoAnne Fritz

On April 23, 2012, JoAnne Fritz died peacefully with her children and her grandchildren surrounding her. She understood that she was dying, and she made a beautiful decision to leave this life with grace and to embrace her next life with joy. But we really miss her.

We leave this page on our website to memorialize her.

Since the age of eight, JoAnne has played the piano at church; she was the only pianist at Cincinnati’s Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Kenwood for over 42 years, and anyone who has ever heard her play knows that she is as gifted in the art of music as her daughter is gifted in the art of practicing medicine. Though JoAnne has retired as the official church pianist, members of her church (and others) still request that she (and she alone) play the piano for the significant events in their lives and for their loved ones’ funerals.

JoAnne is Dr. Fritz’s mother, and she volunteers several hours each week in the office. But volunteering is something that has always come naturally to JoAnne.

In addition to playing the piano for so many years for her church, JoAnne also teaches Bible study there. She has taught the same weekly class for over sixteen years, but it was preceeded by other classes and other age groups. Go ahead…ask her what her class will be studying next Sunday, and she’ll tell you. It’s hard to stump her on something Bible related.

JoAnne combined her gift for music and her gift for teaching by teaching piano, and at one point, she had over 18 piano students taking their turns on her piano bench. She also taught piano to adult students in the evenings at Indian Hill High School, and while her own children were still students, JoAnne worked as a substitute teacher in Deer Park Public Schools.

Lately, JoAnne has weekly volunteered her time at the Wellness Community  providing support and resources for people living with cancer. When JoAnne’s not spending her time generously caring for others, you may find her reading a good book borrowed from the library or playing a competitive game of dominoes or Rook. She has two cats…Kitty and the other Kitty.