Co-Founder of the Orton Family Foundation, Noel Fritzinger, Passes

The Foundation is sad to announce the passing of Noel Fritzinger, co-founder of the Orton Family Foundation, on June 13 at the fine age of 81. Noel was the Foundation’s first President and CEO and guided it well in its early years.

Noel and co-founder Lyman Orton dreamed up a “real time Sim City” that eventually became CommunityViz^®, the groundbreaking GIS application that over 2000 communities now use to visualize and analyze land use alternatives and help define the future.

While this high-tech tool was in development, Noel worked closely with author Jan Albers and MIT Press to produce Hands on the Land, a book exploring the relationships between humans and the Vermont landscape. He also oversaw the production of the video Change and Challenge, which explored these interactions through interviews.

After two years of serving the Foundation as its president, Noel joined its Board, continuing to help guide its work with his deep and perceptive thinking. All who knew him remember his relentless probing, his incisive ideas, his great warmth and humor, and his deep caring for people and community.

We will miss him terribly and will do our best to fulfill his vision.