HOLMES BEACH – Longtime Holmes Beach resident and Nautilus condominium complex manager Fritz Dahlquist passed away after a brief and sudden illness on May 8. He was 70.
He’s survived by his wife of nearly 45 years, Dena, and their two adult daughters, Abby Dahlquist and Lenna Dahlquist. Fritz also leaves behind many dear friends on Anna Maria Island and beyond, including some he knew for decades.
A celebration of life will be held at the Nautilus beachfront on Sunday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. Fritz’s friends are encouraged to join the family for a sunset toast to his memory. Please bring a beach chair and a story to share. The Nautilus is located at 7100 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.
“This was where so many of our family memories happened and where we watched so many sunsets together,” Lenna said.
A WELL-LIVED LIFE
Fritz passed away in the Nautilus condo he and Dena and their family have long called home. Lenna now lives in the greater Orlando area and Abby lives in Los Angeles. They, their husbands and Lenna’s son returned to Holmes Beach when Fritz got sick.
“Fritz’s family vacationed on Anna Maria Island in the 1960s,” said Dena, who works as a nurse practitioner at Dr. Stephen Pelham’s office in Holmes Beach. “Every summer, they stayed at Gulf Drive Apartments in Holmes Beach. In the early 1970s, his father bought an apartment at Martinique and they moved into Martinique North when Fritz was a junior in high school.”
Fritz and Dena met in 1974 while attending Manatee Junior College (now State College of Florida). They married in 1977 and moved to the Nautilus in 1981 when Fritz became the manager.
“We lived here and we raised our two daughters here,” Dena said.
“We had a really unique childhood,” Lenna said. “My sister and I grew up at the Nautilus and were fortunate to know the families that came here year after year. They were like our extended family. My dad fostered these beautiful relationships with all these people and our family really benefitted from his kindness and welcoming nature.”
“He was open to people and created this welcoming environment for the people who came here,” Abby said. “He was their friend. He knew the details of their lives and asked about them. As a kid, I only experienced that with the families I knew, but he experienced it with pretty much every person that came through this place. Making them feel special was a gift he had.”
“We’re on our third generation of families. The children who came here are now having children,” Dena added.
“Our family has banded together and we are running the Nautilus now,” Lenna said of the 34-unit complex. “We’re not sure what the future will bring, but right now we’re running it in his honor to continue what he created here. We feel his presence in all the things we do. He loved this place and he took care of every detail here.”
“The response from the community has been overwhelming,” Lenna said. “The kindness and love we’re being shown is incredible. He touched everybody he knew and connected with everyone he met and people are now sharing their beautiful stories about my dad.”
“Our community in Holmes Beach and Anna Maria Island has just been wonderful. We have a strong village here,” Dena said.
Fritz was a man of many interests.
“He loved surfing. He was a cyclist and he loved riding his bike with friends. He was a great carpenter and loved to make things,” Dena said.
“The Nautilus is an in to all of this,” Abby said. “He was here so long and it afforded him such a good life. He could put the sign up in the office and go surfing down at White Avenue. He took me surfing and introduced me to the community of surfers here. He took kids from my high school on surf trips to Central America. He took me on surf trips and sent me to surf camp. I worked at the surf shop because of my dad and now I live in California, where I can surf.”
“He always had something wise to say because he spent so much time quietly studying Buddhism and Taoism,” Abby said. “He looked inward and lived a subtle, quiet life and didn’t feel the need to impress it on anyone else. He just lived it, and that’s what made all this other stuff possible. He loved music too.”
Regarding music, Lenna said, “He always embraced what my sister and I were interested in and accompanied us to shows. He was open-minded, fun-loving, creative, curious and wanted to be a part of our world.”
“He was a wonderful husband who took care of me and nurtured me and encouraged me with anything I ever wanted to do. He was always there for me,” Dena said.
“He was a great father. He loved his family. He was a great friend to a group of friends we met in college and we all stayed close. He was just so special. I will always remember him as being kind, thoughtful and caring. We would have been married 45 years in May,” Dena said.
“He was one of five children and we have a large family in Bradenton that meant a lot to him,” Lenna added.
Abby said, “A long time ago, my dad told me he believed only God can draw a straight line. He knew he didn’t have to be perfect. He just had to be good and kind, and it showed. Hundreds of people held intimate connections with him that were dear to their hearts. I hope I can live a life with a fraction of the divine love he lived his.”
Lenna said, “He supported me no matter which direction I wanted to take. He always listened and gave such thoughtful advice. And then I became a mom and watched him become a grandfather, which has been such a joy. His playful, kind spirit with my son has been beautiful to see. I hope that I can live a life like my dad – to show kindness and grace and not sweat the small stuff. He was a wonderful person and we were all so lucky that we got to be in his world. We miss him dearly.”
A GOOD FRIEND
Fritz and former Holmes Beach Mayor Carol Whitmore met when they were teens.
“I have known Fritz since he was 15 years old and visited the Island with his family,” Whitmore said. “We continued our friendship as pen pals until he moved to Florida and onto the Island. Many a day, when surf was up, I would see Fritz at West Coast Surf Shop. There’s not one bad word that anybody can say about this man. He loved his wife and his kids and always did the right thing. He touched so many islanders. We will all be here for Dena and the kids during this time of sadness,” Whitmore said.
Former Anna Maria Island resident Rick Lewis said, “I met Fritz and Dena in 1975 when I started working at Blake Hospital. Fritz was the orthopedic tech and Dena was a fairly new Licensed Practical Nurse. I realized I had seen him at the public beach when we were surfing. He was the nicest guy, with a non-stop smile. We have been friends since then. I’m really going to miss him, as will the Island.”
Dr. Pelham and Fritz were close friends.
“I’ve known Fritz and Dena for over 30 years. Fritz and I have done all kinds of stuff together. We used to bicycle together on a regular basis. He was a really good surfer and my son was surfer so we used to go to Latin America and we’d take other teenagers with us,” Pelham said.
“Fritz and I used to go skiing every year. He was a really good athlete. He could do most anything. He was always upbeat and positive and he enjoyed anything we did. I never heard him say anything nasty or bad about any other person. I never saw him angry. You could ask him to do anything and he’d help you out. Fritz was a real good friend. I miss him already.”
