Dr. Herbert H. Fricke

SCARBOROUGH - Dr. Herbert H. Fricke, 72, of Scarborough, formerly of New Jersey, died unexpectedly Thursday June 7, 2012 at Maine Medical Center. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey on September 25, 1939, the son of Arthur Fricke and Anna Sewtz Fricke, both originally from Germany. Herbert was a 1957 graduate of Teaneck High School. He attended Pennsylvania Military College for two years and then transferred to Syracuse University where he was a member of ROTC and became a pilot. Herbert graduated from Syracuse in 1961. After Syracuse he attended New York Law School in Manhattan, graduating in 1964 with a JD degree. While he was in law school, he met the former Christa R. Schmidt originally of Lubeck, Germany. On May 30, 1965, Herbert and Christa were married in Teaneck, New Jersey. Following Law School he entered the Army with the rank of First Lieutenant, serving in Germany where he was responsible for the Military Rail Road Transportation Division. He was then sent to Vietnam and was promoted to the rank of Captain. Following his military service Herbert returned to New Jersey where he started a family and began his career in corporate law. He spent the majority of his career with American Hoechst, a subsidiary of the larger German firm, Hoechst AG. Putting his legal acumen and German background to excellent use he served on the Board of Directors as Corporate Secretary. His many responsibilities there included overseeing several of their international corporate divisions, which he enjoyed very much. Herbert retired in 1996. Following his retirement, he and his family moved to Maine, a place he loved visiting throughout his entire life. Herbert was an avid hunter and saltwater fisherman. He hunted and fished at many exotic locations throughout the world. He and his wife loved to travel all over the world on Pan Am, where she worked for many years. Survivors include his wife Christa of 47 years of Scarborough; two sons, Christopher M. Fricke and his wife Jennifer of Limington, Michael H. Fricke of Lake Tahoe, California; a grandson, Arthur Fricke of England; his sister-in-law Gisela Schindele of West Vancouver, Canada; as well as extended family in Germany and the U.S. Visiting hours will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A 10:30 a.m. funeral service will be held Friday at the South Portland Chapel. Burial will be held in Maine Veterans Cemetery, Sanford/Springvale. Those desiring may make donations to: American Cancer Society, 1 Main Street, Suite 300, Topsham, Maine 04086.Online condolences may be expressed below.