28 May Frederick (Fritz) Zainhofsky
Posted at 14:31h
in Uncategorized
by staff
Frederick (Fritz) Zainhofsky, 88, of Bismarck, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on November 2, 2023, while residing at Miller Pointe in Mandan, ND. A Celebration of Fred’s Life will be held at the Bismarck Funeral Home, Bismarck, ND, on Saturday, June 1st at 11 a.m. A livestream of the service will be available on the Funeral Home website.
Fritz was born in Towner, ND on May 8th, 1935, to Frank and Edna (Rausch) Zainhofsky. He was the oldest of six children. He started school in Towner, ND, and graduated high school from the Assumption Abbey in Richardton, ND. He completed his education at UND in Business Administration. While there, he participated in Army ROTC and the Active Reserve as a First Lieutenant. It was in Grand Forks where he met the love of his life, Myrna Jean LaChappelle. They were married in Warroad, MN on June 2, 1962, at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. After college, Fritz began his career at Congress Inc. in Grand Forks, ND and he was transferred to Bismarck, where they had four boys: Jon, Jeff, James, and their favorite, Justin.
Fritz had a passion for bowling, which led to him purchasing and operating the Bismarck Bowling Center in 1978. Myrna would say this was his real “true love”. Fritz shared his love for the game as a certified bowling instructor with his family, as well as anyone he knew who would love to learn such a wonderful sport. He, along with his teammates, participated in many city and statewide tournaments over the years. He received the honor of being inducted into the Bismarck-Mandan Bowling Association (2006) and ND Bowlers Hall of Fame in 2007.
After the Bismarck Bowling Center, Fritz excelled as a salesman and merchandiser for Amcon Distributing. He drove across the state setting up stores and meeting the needs of countless businesses. Everyone knew his friendly face and appreciated his fantastic customer service. Fritz loved people and had the unique ability to make anyone feel special. He had the gift of gab; this is something we all truly miss.
Fritz also passed down his passion for deer hunting in the Grenora-Westby area with his family and friends. He cherished the days spent exchanging endless stories with his brother-in-law, Marvin Nelson, and best friends, Darwin Rott and Bob Larson. They were truly the original “Gunslingers”; passing down their knowledge, patience, and virtues of hunting to Jon, Miles, Lee, Jeff, and Justin. Anyone who was blessed to hunt with Fritz and Marv truly knew what it was like to feel welcomed and to be a part of something much more than just a hunt.
Fritz’s other accomplishments include: the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps, Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus. He also loved to fish at Lake of the Woods, play golf, and in earlier years, he played slow and fast-pitch softball.
Fritz felt truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. He took immense pride in his three sons and their families. He loved to share stories about their adventures and accomplishments. Any room he was in was always filled with laughter, coffee, and heartwarming tales.
In his last years, Fritz loved to spend time with Myrna. She took such amazing care of him through the tough times and continued to do so until his last breath. He spent his last two years at Miller Pointe and Edgewood in Mandan (a special thanks to the caring staff at Miller Pointe and Edgewood, who knew and cared for him with passion and humor). They knew him by his signature line, “10-4”.
Fritz is survived by his wife, Myrna; sons Jon (Kati), Jeff (Toni) and Justin (friend Angie); grandchildren James and Alycia (Cody) Arneson; siblings Cecilia (Jerry) Raaum and Jerry (Geri) Zainhofsky; brother-in-law Marvin Nelson; sisters-in-law Diane Zainhofsky, Jan (Dave) Pepin, Cheryl LaChappelle, and Lynn Zainhofsky; many nieces and nephews; and a special aunt, Kay LaChappelle.
He was preceded in death by his infant son, James; his parents, Frank and Edna Zainhofsky; brothers Ralph, Mike, and Adrian; parents-in-law, John and Cora LaChappelle; and brother-in-law Bill LaChappelle.
