Captain Frederick ("Fritz") John Kass, Jr.
November 5, 1942 ~ July 13, 2019
New Windsor, NY
Captain Frederick ("Fritz") John Kass, Jr., passed away peacefully at home on July 13, 2019. He was the son of the late Audrey B. Madison and the late Frederick J. Kass, and the step-son of the late Samuel R. Madison. Fritz was born November 5, 1942, in Albany, NY, shortly before his father went to fight in World War II. Raised in Delmar, NY and later moving to New Windsor, NY, he proudly called the Hudson Valley region home throughout his life. Fritz earned his BS in Business and Marketing at Lehigh University and his MBA from SUNY Albany.
At Lehigh, Fritz began his Navy career as a member of the Navy ROTC program. After graduation, he volunteered for active service, servingthree combat tours in Vietnam (1965-1966-1967).After his return from active duty, he continued to serve as a US Navy Reserve officer. He had one additional combat tour in the Middle East in Desert Storm (1990-1991) as the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations/Plans, and several Command Tours in Korea (1987-1990) as the Commander of a US Navy Special Operations (SEALs) team, in support of NATO in Bosnia (1991-1994), and several classified tours with US Naval Intelligence. He also served a term as Commander of the New York Naval Militia for Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard (1991-1994). In 1995, he retired from the Navy having achieved the rank of Captain. From 1977, he served as a Blue and Gold Admissions Information Officer for the United States Naval Academy, recruiting enthusiastically until his death.
Passionate about aviation and a certificated private pilot himself,Fritzwas a member of the Board of Directors for New York Aviation Management Association (NYAMA) from 1995-2015, and served as the PAC Treasurer for Voice of New York Aviation PAC from 2009-2015. From 1995 to 2006, Fritz served as Director of Aviation for Orange County Airport. Beginning in 2004, he was an Airport Support Volunteer with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) at Stewart International Airport. In 2012, he received the NYAMA Bill Shea Award which is presented to the person deemed to have done the most to benefit aviation in New York State during the preceding twelve months.
As an enthusiastic organizer who cared deeply about his community, Fritz was an active member of the Rotary Club for over 42 years supporting numerous local, regional, national, and international good will projects such as Polio Plus. He was also deeply involved with college radio and volunteered for over 58 years with Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS), an organization dedicated to helping high school and college students setup and run their own radio stations. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and as a board member. A true highlight for both Fritz and all IBS members were the yearly conferences he organized that brought together students and radio professionals from across the country to promote, learn and be inspired by radio.
Throughout his life, Fritz was an entrepreneur. After his graduation from SUNY Albany, he opened a chain of "Lafayette" and "Action Audio" electronics stores that he operated in the 1970 and 80's. With his step-father, Sam Madison, he later built New Windsor Mall, where he was proud to help local business owners realize their ambition. As a long-time member of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, Fritz was always happy to share his vast business experience to help others succeed.
Fritz loved spending time with his grandchildren and encouraging them in their shared love of science, technology, and electronic gadgets. He loved to talk to them about what might be coming next in 3d printing, communications, high speed trains, space exploration, electric vehicles, and computing. He was also an avid traveller through his life, having visited over 100 countries - most recently sharing that love with his kids and grandkids by visiting Italy, England, Ireland, and Iceland with them.
He is survived by his sister Mary W. Wassung of East Lyme, CT and brother-in-law George M. Kaufman; two children, Samuel J. Kass and wife Karen Bryla of Oberrieden, Switzerland, and Frederick D. Kass and wife Jenny Lisa Kass of Northampton, MA; four grandchildren Theodore ("Ted"), Maxwell ("Max"), Abigail ("Abbey"), and Nicholas ("Nicky"); as well as many nieces, nephews, and long-time friends. He was predeceased by his sister Carolyn K. Kaufman and brother-in-law Robert B. Wassung.
Family and friends are invited to call on the family at Brooks Funeral Home at 481 Gidney Ave, Newburgh, NY on August 10, 2019 at 3pm. A short service will follow at 4pm. In lieu of flowers, Fritz was a strong believer in donating to charities with which you have a personal connection, and would be honored if you would make a donation to your favorite charity in his name.