“He is quite a character”, is the reply you get when you ask Bergen folk if they know Fritz Rowsick.
Fritz (Francis R. Rowsick) was born in, and dearly loved Pittsburg, PA. He was born on October 6, 1939 and left us suddenly on July 27, 2024 at his home in Bergen, NY. His life career was in advertising and finances for various companies. His last job was his favorite- he drove school bus (small bus) for Pittsford Central school district. He sang along with the kids on the bus as he drove them safely to their destinations. A week or so after his retirement the current driver on the bus called him in the morning and asked him to sing a song for the kids, as they missed him dearly, and of course he did sing to them over the phone to their delight, and his as well.
Fritz married his high school sweetheart (Pat) and they had three children. Pat died on August 17, 2011, after being married to Fritz for 49 years. Several months following Pat’s death Mr. Rowsick joined a spousal support group. It was here he met Elizabeth Van Valkenburg, also a widow, and they married on January 2, 2013.
Mark Rowsick, his son with Down syndrome, was well known in our community prior to his death. He also had 2 stepsons who also died, Matthew Greenman and John Greenman. Family missing him on Earth is Bud Rowsick, his son from Pittsburgh; stepchildren, Ron Greenman and wife, Dawn, of Westminster, MD, David Van Valkenburg and wife, Pat, of Saugerties, NY, Donna Howard and her spouse Garth, of Caledonia. A daughter and family of Fritz’s of Canandaigua and a stepson and his family of Bergen sadly are estranged.
Also in Fritz’s family are his brother, Joe and wife, and his sister, Mary Anna Rowsick of Pittsburg. He had a fairly large family and tried to keep in contact with all the nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and cousins as best he could.
In his retirement, he and Liz traveled to Ireland, London, Paris, Rome, and Fiji, along with Greece and several train trips across the US. After all of that in the first few years of retirement, he was more than happy to settle down, stay home, and do some volunteer work. He was a substitute on the Bergen Board of Appeals, the Bergen Representative on the Office of the Aging Supervisory Board, member of the Holy Name Society at St. Brigid Church, and an official chocolate taster, no matter where he was, along with homemade (not by Liz) apple pie, with one slice never being enough. He spent a lot of time at the Bergen Public Library, bringing home videos to carry him and Liz over the weekend. He attended every sporting event that his step grandkids participated in at Byron Bergen Central and Cal Mum School. Mr. Rowsick also served as a Eucharistic Minister at St. Brigid.
Mr. Rowsick was very proud of his Lithuanian heritage and loved it when he met people who shared that with him. Luckily for everyone, Fritz didn’t know a whole lot of the Lithuanian language, but he would learn new words a few times a year and would share them, with the words he knew, whether anyone wanted to learn them or not!
Fritz belonged to a group that called themselves, The Elite, as in “The Elite Meet to Eat” that gathered for lunch one a month. The group was comprised of people he met at the Spousal Support Group. The Group has been faithful to these lunches for nearly 14 years. Every female member got a hug coming and going from Fritz.
There are no calling hours. There is however his funeral Mass at St. Brigid’s on Friday, August 2, 2024, at 10:00am. Interment will immediately follow the funeral Mass.
Memorial for our favorite character are suggested to: Bergen Public Library- 13 South Lave Ave., Bergen NY 14416 or Genesee Senior Foundation-specify Wellness Classes on the check, (he learned Tai Chi!, can you imagine that?) 2 Bank Street, Batavia NY 14020.
Please feel free to wear Steelers apparel to the Mass. (Guess what? That was his first and only team- what a surprise, eh?). Guess what else- he was NOT a registered Republican! (Who Knew).
Please leave a condolence, share a story, or light a candle at www.bataviafuneralhomes.com.
