Albert Nelson Fritter, 1918-2004

  The Rev. Albert N. Fritter was born on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1918, in Garrisonville, Stafford County, Va. He was the son of the late Enoch N. and Olive Gallahan Fritter. Albert was a graduate of Stafford High School and Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., and received a Master of Divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Ga. He also did graduate work for a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation for the Visually Handicapped at Virginia Commonwealth University and at Oklahoma University.

  Albert was ordained a deacon in 1944, and an elder in full connection in 1946. He served churches in Powhatan, Heathsville, Hillsboro, Bluemont, Pleasant Valley, Forest Road, Mt. Pleasant, Fairmount, Good Hope, New Hope, Ettrick, and Colonial Beach. While serving as pastor of the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Herndon, the church was named "Rural Church of the Year in Virginia."

  In 1967, Albert was given a special appointment to work for the Virginia Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. He was a vocational and rehabilitation counselor and a supervisor of the Alexandria, Va., office. In 1977, he was named assistant state supervisor of the Vocational Rehabilitation Field Service for the Virginia Commission for the Visually Handicapped. His work earned him the Virginia Department for the Handicapped Counselor of the Year Award as well as the Elkins Award for both the state and mid-Atlantic region. He retired from the commission in 1983.

  Albert went to be with God on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2004, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, Stella Smith Fritter; one son, Albert N. Fritter, Jr. and his wife, Betty H. Fritter; one grandson, Christopher N. Fritter; two sisters, Christine F. Dent and Barbara F. Duffey; and many nieces and nephews.

  A graveside service was held on Feb. 4, 2004, at Forest Lawn Cemetery with the Rev. John Peters and Rev. Kathy Gochenour, Trinity United Methodist Church, officiating.