About a year ago when Fritz was urged to write his obituary he said: “Just write that I loved my wife, loved my children, loved my country and loved life.” All of which was true. But there is so much more:
Frederick Burton Tossberg, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend to many, passed away peacefully at his Hamilton home on January 11, 2025 at the age of 94. He was born November 23, 1930, in Denver, Colorado, to John Philip Tossberg and Donna Maye Rickle Tossberg.
He lived a life marked by tragedy met with resilience. When Fritz was fifteen his father died in a car accident leaving him, his mother and two brothers nearly destitute. They survived but it was a struggle and probably shaped the fine work ethic and energy Fritz demonstrated for the rest of his life.
In 1948 he graduated from Fort Collins High School where he was president of the student body. He won a scholarship to Yale University from which he graduated with distinction in 1952. Another scholarship got him to the Harvard Business School from which he received an MBA in 1954.
Fritz served in the US Army in Alaska 1954-1956. Then he returned to Denver to work at the Colorado National Bank as a Security Analyst and later as manager of the Trust Investment Department.
In 1957 he married Mildred (Milly) Thomas Wilson from Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 67 years they shared a remarkable partnership filled with love, humor and intelligence.
In 1961 he was employed by Boettcher and Company, Colorado’s largest investment banking and stock brokerage firm. Five years later he was a partner.
In 1970 failed eye surgery forced Fritz to rethink his life. He retired at age 41 and the family moved to the Bitterroot Valley.
An avid fly fisherman, he fell in love with the area’s rivers. From the Lochsa to the Elk, from the Madison to the Missouri, he fished them all. He was probably the first to float the Bitterroot in an Avon raft.
In 1981 he was appointed to the State Board of Investments, perhaps due to his experience with startups and underwriting new businesses in Colorado.
In November 1981 he was selected by the district judge to complete the term of a retiring county commissioner. The next year he was elected to a six-year term as a county commissioner.
In 1988 he was asked to be a trustee on the Board of Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital. He served for 16 tumultuous years.
He served on the board of Ribi Immunochem back in the days before it became GSK.
The Teller Wildlife Refuge benefited from his wise counsel as a member of its board.
Fritz was a voracious reader and a friend of libraries. He worked at the library when he was in college. For many years he was a volunteer at the Bitterroot Public Library (on Saturday, when it was hard to find willing volunteers). And he was a member of the advisory board for the Bitterroot Library Foundation.
There was plenty of time for fun, too. He was still skiing into his eighties. And, of course, fishing. He and Milly cooked together and loved entertaining their friends. He was a delightful Grandpa to his five grandchildren.
Fritz will be remembered as a man of integrity, intellect, humor and compassion. His legacy lives on in the lives of those he touched and in the impact of his contributions to his family, friends and community.
Fritz was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers: John Philip and Thomas Elderkin Tossberg. He is survived by his loving wife and three sons; Frederick (Chris) Christian, and his wife Alice Nagy, their sons Wilson, James, and David; Robert (Rob) Wilson, and his partner Daniela Skrein, and with his former wife, Dina Engle and their children Veronica and Fritz; John Thomas and his wife Amanda Meade.
A memorial gathering will be held in the late spring. Donations in his memory should be given to the Bitterroot Library Foundation.
Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com.
