HERRING, Katharine "Fritzi" (Yundt)
Katharine "Fritzi" Yundt Herring died at home on June 2, 2024, at the age of 96, shortly after listening to the Sunday service of First Presbyterian Church where she was baptized, married and a lifelong member. Born August 11, 1927, in the family home on 17th Street in Ansley Park, Fritzi was a fourth-generation Atlantan, and was named for a dear family friend, Katharine Walker of Atlanta. She was the sixth and youngest child of Caroline Graham Perdue and George J. Yundt, Sr. She was predeceased by her parents; her husband of 57 years, William (Bill) Clifton Herring, Sr.; her beloved daughter and first child, Katharine Elizabeth Herring of Guyton, Georgia, who died in 2021; and siblings, Marion Von Canon, Lucy Kuntz Yundt, George Yundt, Jr., Albert (Pete) Yundt and Caroline Y. Bethea.
Fritzi attended Spring Street School and graduated from Washington Seminary (now Westminster) in 1945. She was President of Atlanta Debutante Club (1947-48), and joined the Atlanta Junior League in 1950. She attended the University of Georgia in 1945, joining Chi Omega Sorority and then attended and graduated from the Atlanta College of Art (now SCAD), in 1951.
Fritzi was a modern-day woman and enjoyed having a career. After college, she worked at Rich's Department Store as a visual merchandiser, and then as an artist in the design department, at Dan River Mills, NYC. She was the Society News reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution (1953-56) where she met her husband, Bill who came by regularly to submit press releases for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. After starting a family, she worked as the Women's News Editor and Reporter, for the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel (1963-67). In 1971, Fritzi and Bill, started Worldwide Travelogs, which they managed and owned for 18 years, promoting travel films and hosting world tours. Together, they shared many adventures.
Fritzi was a Member of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta Junior League, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Friends of Oakland Cemetery, and Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. A resident of Atlanta's Sherwood Forest for 54 years, Fritzi was an active member of the garden club. She loved playing bridge and Mahjong, practiced yoga for 50 years, and enjoyed long walks around the neighborhood, well into her nineties. But most importantly, Fritzi was known for her "joie de vivre" and her keen interest in the lives and well-being of others, giving her warmth freely to all. Her broad smile and sense of humor were infectious; she was gentle, kind and demure.
Some fun facts about Fritzi: she was bitten by a monkey at a roadside attraction as a young girl; she rode on a float in the first Mardi Gras parade after the end of WWII; and, in 1948, in full antebellum costume, she christened the "Georgian" train for the Chicago & Eastern RR, smashing it with a bottle of peach brandy.
She is survived by her children, William Clifton Herring, Jr. and Lucy Yundt Herring of Atlanta; and many loved nieces and nephews, and their families. Fritzi will be interred at Historic Oakland Cemetery with her husband Bill and eldest daughter Katharine. A Memorial Service will be held Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 11:30 AM, in the Winship Chapel at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in her name to the Atlanta Mission.
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