Story Tools • • Date of Issue: March 30, 2005 Obituary Richard Thomas Fritz Robert W. Nelson, 57, of St. Armands Key, died Oct. 6. Richard Thomas Fritz, 82, of Bradenton and formerly Bradenton Beach, died Oct. 12. Born in Trenton, N.J., Mr. Fritz was a lifelong resident of Manatee County. He was a real estate salesman. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a former city commissioner in Bradenton Beach in the early to mid-1980s. He was a member of the Moose Lodge and American Legion Kirby Stewart Post. No. 24 in Bradenton. He was a member of St. Bernard Catholic Church, Holmes Beach. A Funeral Mass was Oct. 18 at the church. Burial will be in Manasota Memorial Park, Bradenton. Brown and Sons Funeral Home, 43rd Street Chapel, was in charge of arrangements. He is survived by daughters Marissa of Fort Walton Beach and Sonja Cucinotti of Salem, Mass.; and two grandchildren. Dr. Earl N. Saunders Dr. Earl N. Saunders, of Parrish and formerly Holmes Beach, died Oct. 10. Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Dr. Saunders was a family practitioner in Holmes Beach serving Anna Maria Island in the 1960s and '70s. He received a bachelor's degree at Baldwin Wallace, Berea, Ohio, an engineering degree at Grove City College, Pa., and a doctorate at Miami University. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II as a staff sergeant in the Pacific Theater. He was medical director of Florida State Boy's School, physician to Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Florida Division of Corrections, Monroe County. He was acting medical director of Monroe County Health Department and on staff at Manatee Memorial Hospital. He was a family practitioner in Key West and Inglis, Fla. He taught at Louisiana State University, FLEX Lisc. 1972, and was licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana, Kentucky, Colorado, Georgia and Florida. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the Florida Medical Society. He was a member of the Manatee and Monroe county medical societies and a Fellow and Life Member of the American Academy of Family Practice. He held a commercial radio broadcaster license. He was an inventor in electronics in the radio broadcasting field. There were no services. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southwest Florida, 5955 Rand Blvd., Sarasota FL 34238. He is survived by wife Barbara Browning; sons Bruce Allen, E. Douglas, William, David, Dr. James and Stephan Bartling; daughters Elizabeth Creighton, Jill Liberman and Heather Bartling; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.