OCEAN CITY — A household name in the coastal real estate industry passed away peacefully on Monday.
Broker Mark Fritschle, 69, spent more than 40 years working in the real estate industry in and around Ocean City. He achieved tremendous success throughout his real estate career and holds practically every designation a Realtor and broker can obtain through continuing education courses and credits.
According to his peers, one of his greatest strengths was his ability to adjust to the times and trends of the day over his four decades. One example would be his use of technology to market and sell properties through his Mark Fritschle Group-Condominium Realty, Ltd., which he founded in 1977.
Realtor and Associate Broker Joy Snyder has worked with Fritschle for three decades in the Ocean City area. She remembered him fondly Tuesday.
“We’re going to miss him. We’ve worked together for nearly 30 years in one way or another. We butted heads sometimes but we always ended up laughing at the end,” Snyder said. “He was way ahead of his time in many ways, especially with technology and the changing ways of marketing and selling properties. He built his company from nothing and did so by being rooted with very experienced people. Many of his first co-workers are still here today. He very much had an open door policy and was always available for his people. He was a very, very fair person, always fair.”
Snyder said she will miss being able to pick up the phone at any given time, saying, ‘Hey Fritch, it’s Snyder.’” She added, “I’m going to miss him. His and my generation of Realtors are dying off. While we believe in and accept the technology changes of our industry, it still comes down to people and communicating effectively. He was great at that.”
In January of 2015, Fritschle, along with his wife Lora, received the Ocean City Lions Club’s highest and most prestigious community service honor — The Pride Award, which is presented to individuals who make valuable contributions to the club’s mission of bettering the community. Fritschle annually donated to the Ocean City’s Wounded Warriors Fund.
“He was a talent giver and never looked for the spotlight on what he did, whether it was professional, personal or charitable,” Snyder said.
Two years ago, Fritschle underwent a lung replacement surgery and recently was diagnosed with pneumonia, which is believed to have caused his death on Memorial Day, according to family and friends.
Kevin Decker, a Realtor with Mark Fritschle Group-Condominium Realty, Ltd., called the only boss he’s ever had in the real estate business, “the Michael Jordan of our industry.”
“I started working for him 15 years ago and never left. I had other offers but he was just the best. There was no reason to go anywhere. He was like playing for the Yankees. Not everyone liked you, but you were always in the World Series,” Decker said. “He liked to say ‘control the listings, control the market.’ He was the hardest working person I ever met. He was 24-7 when he was healthy.”
Decker added, “When anyone ever needed anything or had fallen on tough times, he was there for you and never wanted anything in return. He was the best to those of us who knew him well.”
A celebration of Fritschle’s life has been planned for Friday, June 2 at 10 a.m. on the beach at 62nd Street. A wake will be held at the Clarion Hotel at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Mark & Lora Fritschle Pulmonary Research Fund at https://medschool-umaryland.givecorps.com/projects/20219-research-mark-lora-fritschle-pulmonary-research-fund
