Melvin Louis “Dutch” Fruechtenicht, 101, of Huntsville, passed away on January 4, 2021. He was born July 7, 1919 in Eldridge, Iowa to parents Louis and Mabel (Meyer) Fruechtenicht and grew up on the family farm. He attended a one-room schoolhouse for grades 1-8 and ultimately graduated from Iowa State University in 1940 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He was employed as a civilian with U.S. Army Ordnance and served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the same capacity.
Dutch was the original director of the Army Metrology Center established in Philadelphia, PA in 1962. The unit was transferred to Redstone Arsenal in 1967 where he continued his distinguished career in Ordnance civil service until retirement in 1979. He served on numerous national committees establishing engineering and manufacturing standards for industry. After retirement he participated in an IESC (International Executive Service Corps) project as a volunteer consultant to establish a Bureau of Standards for Taiwan.
At Iowa State, Dutch met and later married the love of his life, Elizabeth Calvert (“Betty”) with whom he shared 76 years of marriage and two sons until her death in 2017.
He is survived by two sons, Richard C. Fruechtenicht of Birmingham, AL and Douglas H. Fruechtenicht (Karen) of Grand Rapids, MI; two grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and several nephews and nieces.
He loved working outdoors and was known for his beautiful flower gardens. He enjoyed playing golf with his buddies well into his 90s. He and Betty enjoyed trailering, dancing (square and otherwise) and were long-time members of the Good Sam Space Pioneers camping club and the Merry Mixer Squire Dance club. He attributed his incredible longevity to staying active and his early years of hard work growing up on the farm.
He was a long-time member of Covenant Presbyterian Church.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Covenant Presbyterian Church, Huntsville or Presbyterian Children’s Home, Talladega, AL.
