Earl Edward Fritts, 80, was born in Brooklyn, Washington on Dec. 16, 1940, to parents Wiley and Helen Fritts and passed away May 30, 2021, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Earl grew up in Aberdeen, Washington, graduated from Weatherwax High School and attended Grays Harbor Junior College. He joined the Army in 1962, serving at West Point, New York thru 1967.

Earl was a crane operator/ longshoreman working for the ILWU (37 years) — first at Aberdeen, then at the Seattle waterfront retiring Sept. 1, 2003.

Earl loved life and was active in a variety of activities: fishing, hunting, traveling, flying airplanes, golf, woodcarving and spending time with family and friends. He also enjoyed racing motorcycles, sprint cars and stock cars. In 2015 he was inducted into the Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Earl was preceded in death by his dad, mom and grandson Kyle Cottey. He is survived by his wife Marianne Fritts, his brother Bill Fritts (Linda), daughter Angela Risteen {Jeff), son Scott Fritts (Kelsey), stepsons Matthew Laase (Cheryl) and Kevin Laase (Abbie) and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held June 26, 2021, 2 p.m. at the Buckley Eagles, 29021 State Route 410 E, Buckley, Washington.