With sadness and great respect, Texas Conservation Alliance says goodbye to its co-founder, Eugenia “Genie” Fritz, following her extraordinary 100-year life. With her husband, legendary Texas conservationist Ned Fritz, Genie helped establish TCA, then known as Texas Committee on Natural Resources (TCONR), in 1971.
As the daughter of a diplomat, Genie grew up travelling widely, particularly in Latin America, leading her to complete a degree in economics and government at University of Texas Institute for Latin American Studies. Genie served as President and a long-time Board Member of the Dallas League of Women Voters (LWV), receiving the Virginia Macdonald Leadership Award for her extensive volunteer work. While raising four exceptional daughters, she served on the Texas LWV Board, the Tejas Girl Scout Council board, and was Secretary of the Overseas Education Fund for LWV, which focused on teaching women about democracy. For years, Genie served on the board of the Texas Land Conservancy, the state's largest land trust not affiliated with a national organization. She served as President of the Women's Southwest Federal Credit Union, co-founder and first President of the Greater Dallas Housing Opportunity Center, and a Board Member at the First Unitarian Church Dallas, where she helped found its Social Action Council. As co-founder of Texas Conservation Alliance, Genie for years handled the organization’s finances.
Genie helped TCA grow from a small group of volunteer activists to a respected statewide conservation organization covering a broad range of issues and programs. Long-time members of TCA have fond memories of gathering at Ned and Genie’s camp at Texas Wilderness Pow Wows, where Genie was mother hen to us all. We laughed with her over trying to decipher Ned’s handwriting as she edited, typed, and provided thoughtful input to his thousands of letters, newsletters, court documents, and books on clearcutting and wilderness areas. After spending a day in the woods with her, one member of the group summed her up with, “She seems like the sort of person everyone should be.”
Genie never lost her deep interest in conservation. In the final months of her life, when she could no longer attend meetings, she continued to support and provide inspiration and advice to TCA leaders.
The North Texas Master Naturalists bestowed on her the title of Honorary Texas Master Naturalist and created a special recognition for her, the Dragonfly Award. The couple was honored with the naming of Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail by Dallas City Council proclamation.
TCA joins Genie’s family and the many people whose lives she touched in honoring her integrity, persistence, humor, and outstanding contributions to society.