Fritz John Ashauer

Fritz John Ashauer, age 86, passed away Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at his home in Mesquite. He was born November 17, 1937, in Visalia, California to Freda Grimm Ashauer and Fred Ashauer. He was their only child. He married Carolyn Kliewer Buschman on May 26, 1979 in Thayne, Wyoming.

Fritz attended elementary and high schools in Visalia, California. He served in the Army National Guard Infantry of California for three years and completed five years of service in the Reserves with an honorable discharge. After marrying his first wife, Nada Henderson, he became interested in music and recording and eventually opened a music and record store catering to the interests of teens and young people in Santa Barbara, California. Fritz formally adopted Nada’s two children James and Rena and fathered a son, Fritz Daniel (Danny).

After moving to Bountiful, Utah in the early 1970s, Fritz contracted work with Utah Power and Light in Salt Lake City. That was his weekday employment. On the weekends he flew his private airplane to Visalia, California often accompanied by his son Danny to farm the walnut orchard he had inherited from his parents. During this time Fritz and Nada were divorced. 

Fritz and Carolyn were married in 1979. Within a year they moved to Star Valley Ranch near Thayne, Wyoming. They were accompanied by Fritz’s son, Danny (12) and Carolyn’s daughter Lesil (7) who snowmobiled to and from the bus stop in the winter and motorcycled the distance in the spring and fall. He taught Carolyn’s daughter, Lesil to ride bike — running tirelessly beside and behind her till she could get the hang of it. Carolyn’s sons Derek (11) and Monty (10) came for the summers with their motorcycles and enjoyed the outdoor freedom of riding the undeveloped areas of Star Valley Ranch, exploring the canyons with Danny as their guide. Fritz taught the boys how to repair and maintain their “rides” and how to gut fish and other manly arts. After a few years of “roughing it” in the winter, hauling groceries and other supplies to the house in a sled, keeping the wood stove stoked, moving snow, enjoying the wildlife, the beauty of the pristine snow, and fridged temperatures; the adventure of it all got old and the finances were squeezed to the limit. It was time to move on.

After moving to the Salt Lake City area, Fritz found employment as a broadcast engineer at a radio station. He had a natural knack for this and soon contracted with many of the stations in the vicinity — keeping their equipment running and their signals on the air. He also gained experience in building radio stations from the ground up and he dreamed of having his own.

 Carolyn’s daughter Lesil and her significant other had a baby girl, Vive, in 1994. This granddaughter came to live with Fritz and his wife for several years. Although Fritz always said he didn’t want any crying grand babies around, he became thoroughly attached, and proclaimed that she was the child that he and Carolyn never had. Vive became his little “schnookie.” 

In 1999 Fritz started taking steps toward making the radio station possible. He and his wife moved back to Star Valley and around 2004 and his dream began to be his reality. Intermountain Public Radio was up and running. KTYN 91.9 on the FM dial was playing Golden Oldies on the air. Through the years other call letters and a country venue were added. He was a one-man operator managing all aspects and complexities of a radio station. He was assisted by Laurie Arnold who produced most ads, liners, and announcements — lending a professional touch to his on-air presence. His desire was to serve by announcing local cultural events, advertising local businesses, and bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the communities in Wyoming and Idaho. He was always striving for better sound and further signal outreach. 

Fritz was a unique and sometimes excentric man. A man of conviction who loved the Lord, who delighted in the work of his hands, and loved the people he served through the airwaves.

He was a great handyman able to fix almost anything. 

He owned several airplanes during his lifetime and loved flying them. Fishing, boating, camping and enjoying the beauty of nature delighted him. He loved watching the wild life and feeding the birds. Having a small flock of “cluckers,” for fresh eggs, a few peafowl for beauty, and guinea hens to eat insects were among his hobbies.

By the end of 2023 it was evident that Fritz could no longer climb towers and fix antennas, or snowmobile up mountains to fix radio transmitters along with the duties of broadcasting due to dementia and other physical age-related issues. A few days before Christmas 2023 he drove himself to Mesquite, Nevada, to be with Carolyn who was there for the winter; he spent the last six months of his life in her care. During his last month Carolyn was assisted by the professionals from Comfort Home Health and Hospice. Their kind perceptive care for both Fritz and Carolyn helped ease them through the last chapter of Fritz’s life. He drew his last breath in the early hours of Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 and crossed over the realm of physical existence into the arms of Jesus and his forever home.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn, the afore mentioned children and their spouses (if they have one), 14 grandchildren and several great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Freda Ashauer and his son James Ashauer.

We invite family and friends to leave condolences or memories at www.starmortuary.com