Drill, Frederick E., MD Beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and orthopedic surgeon, Frederick E./ "Fritz" Drill, MD died May 17, 2023, two days shy of his 93rd birthday. He was surrounded by the love and presence of his family.

Fritz is survived by his wife, Cori, of almost 73 years, whom he courted for 6 years before they married in 1952 after they graduated from college. They had 4 children, whom he considered to be "wonderful": Scott (Debbie), Sarah (Bob), Laurie (Richard), and Nancy. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Adam, Angela, Sarah, Madeleine, Daniel, Lucia, Corrine, and Joseph, and 12 great-grandchildren: Colette, Evelyn, Barrett, Eleanor, Alden, Jack, Liam, Louna, Zoie Joy, Wyatt, Isabel, and Jacob. He is also survived by his brother David (Arlie) and sister Hermie (Foster).

Fritz was born on 5.19.30; he was the oldest of 3 children born to Violet and Herman E./ "Tiny" Drill, MD. He graduated from Blake School in 1948, Harvard University in 1952, The University of Minnesota Medical School in 1956, and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center (VAMC) in 1961.

After his residency, he founded his independent private practice in orthopedic surgery, focused primarily at Fairview Southdale and Methodist hospitals; he practiced clinically until 1990. Orthopedics was a specialty for which he was particularly well-suited, being passionate about fixing things that were broken, especially bones. Additionally, he loved to teach and to that end, served as a University of Minnesota clinical professor of orthopedics, teaching orthopedic surgery residents at the VAMC 1.5 days/ week for 29 years. His commitment to training and mentoring young orthopedic surgeons is still positively impacting orthopedic care in Minnesota and beyond.

Fritz was very committed to improving healthcare for Minnesotans; he demonstrated this by becoming deeply engaged in organized medicine. He was the President/Chairman of the Board, of The Foundation for Healthcare Evaluation ('74-76); President/Chairman of the Board, of Hennepin County Medical Society ('79-81); a founding member of MMIC, a medical professional liability company, where some of his most important contributions were as Underwriting Chairman for 11 years. It was in this role that he made significant contributions to improving the safety and quality of care delivered by MMIC-insured physicians.

Fritz also advocated for MMIC's long-term financial support of Physicians Serving Physicians (now Physician Wellness Collaborative, housed at Twin Cities Medical Society), a program dedicated to serving those physicians who had substance use disorders. This program has facilitated and supported the recovery and healing of countless Minnesota physicians and their families, ultimately maintaining better access to healthcare for Minnesotans.

Fritz was a "natural" athlete and co-captained both his Blake high school football and hockey teams. He was especially proud of his Blake '46-47 hockey team, which was undefeated. Of note, Blake, which couldn't participate in the public-school state tournament, did defeat St. Paul Johnson, the eventual state champion. Probably the most spectacular of his athletic feats occurred in 1951 during the fiercely competitive annual Harvard-Yale football game, when he intercepted a pass and ran for a touchdown, resulting in a tie of 21:21; this event was highlighted on the front page of the New York Times the following day.

Fritz's love of sports continued with tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and golf as well as hunting and fishing with friends. He treasured annual family skiing vacations at Vail, CO over the holidays. He also cherished time at his lake home on Bay Lake, where he especially enjoyed evening pontoon cruises, playing tennis, and walking to the candy store with his grandchildren.

Fritz was an active member of many clubs and medical associations; he was honored to be invited to join the Harvard Pi Eta and Minnesota Orthopedic Bone and Joint Clubs; he appreciated the privilege of membership at Interlachen, Minikahda, and Rio Verde Country Clubs. He and Cori spent much of their retirement time in Rio Verde, AZ where they enjoyed golf, communing with friends, and travel. They returned to Minnesota full-time at the beginning of the pandemic, cherishing the company of family and friends while residing at Trillium Woods in Plymouth, MN.

Because of Fritz's love of teaching anatomy while in medical school and his strong belief in the value of scientific research, he chose to support these fields by participating in the University of Minnesota's Anatomy Bequest Program.

The family wishes to express their profound gratitude to caregivers Tina and Terrise at The Birches at Trillium Woods and the staff of Grace Hospice for their tender care of Fritz before his death.

A memorial service to honor Fritz will be held at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Rd., Edina, MN 55435 on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023, at 11 am. A reception will follow. If so desired, donations in Fritz's memory and honor may be directed to the University of Minnesota Foundation Drill medical scholarship fund, P.O. Box 860266, Mpls., MN 55486-0266. Online donations can be made at Give.umn.edu

Published on May 28, 2023