Barbara Rose Fitts

Barbara Rose Fitts left this world on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at the age of 100. Born Barbara Rose Fischer to Carl and Rose Fischer in Paris, Arkansas, Barbara was the middle of three siblings. Her family was part of a strong German Catholic community that settled in Paris in the late 19th Century. Barbara and her brothers, George and Carl Jr., attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Paris as children, surrounded by many friends and extended family. Barbara continued her education in high school at the all-girls St. Scholastica Academy in Fort Smith, Arkansas, graduating in May 1942. Barbara attended St. Louis University for several semesters, but in the early 1940s the country was in upheaval with World War II. She contributed to the war effort at an Army base in Texarkana during most of 1943 and at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, in 1944. In 1945, a young Navy Aviation Machinist’s Mate, Bill Carl Fitts, also from Paris, Arkansas, asked for Barbara’s hand with an engagement ring. Barbara later told her children the two had known each other since the age of three when they met in a playground sandbox. Eighteen years later, on August 5, 1946, they were married in St. Joseph’s Church in Paris, Arkansas, only a month after Bill has honorably discharged from the Navy after the end of the war. Bill and Barbara began their life together by returning to St. Louis University so that Bill could train for a civilian career. During their two years there, Barbara gave birth to their first son, Richard Neal, in 1948. The couple then decided to complete Bill’s education at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where Bill graduated with a Civil Engineering degree. Their family grew with a second son, David Joseph, arriving in 1951. Bill and Barbara settled in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where they lived most of their lives and where Bill established a successful construction steel fabrication business. The family grew again with a daughter, Carla Marie, arriving in 1958. Bill and Barbara developed life-long friendships in Fort Smith with other couples raising “Baby Boomer” families. Too, they were always supported and uplifted by a network of extended family and Catholic Church members. Bill Fitts passed away in 2006. In 2013, at the age of 90, after out-surviving most of her friends in Fort Smith, a still spry Barbara moved to Houston, Texas, to be with her three children, all of whom had established successful careers, homes, and families there. In Houston, Barbara resided at St. Dominic Village and Holly Hall retirement communities, where Barbara developed new social networks. She celebrated her 100th birthday at Holly Hall this past May with a reception attended by over 30 members of her family. She passed peacefully in her sleep on Saturday morning, November 16, 2024. Barbara Rose “Fischer” Fitts is survived by her 3 children, Richard, David, and Carla; 6 grandchildren, Sean, Brian, Aaron, Christopher, Kara, and Andy; and 9 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her parents, and her brothers. Funeral services will be held in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with a rosary at 11:30 AM at Christ the King Catholic Church on Saturday, November 30, 2024, followed by a mass at noon. Memorial services will be celebrated in Houston in the chapel of Holly Hall Retirement Community, 2000 Holly Hall Street, Houston, Texas, 77054, on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 2:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Barbara Rose “Fischer” Fitts to the Benedictine Sisters at St. Scholastica Monastery, 1315 S. Albert Pike Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 72903-2411, or through their website: www.stscho.org, email: monastery@stscho.org, or phone: 479-783-4147.

Barbara Rose Fitts

May 13, 1924 - November 16, 2024