Godefridus “Frits” Dekort

Godefridus “Frits” Dekort, 87, of Georgetown, Texas, passed away peacefully on September 6, 2023, with his family by his side.

Frits was born in the Netherlands on June 18, 1936, and was the only child born to Karl Dekort and Anne Van Den Eertwegh Dekort.  His dream was to move to America, so at the age of 18 he immigrated alone to this country and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not long after becoming a United States citizen, he was drafted into the Army, where he served for 20 years. His time with the Army included one year in combat in Vietnam and nine years overseas in Germany.  On one of his trips back home to Holland to visit his family, he was reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Rita. They were married in Holland in 1962 and then she joined him in America where they remained happily married for 61 years. After retiring from the Army in 1977, Frits worked in Alaska, started his own business in Copperas Cove, went to work for Travis County and then finally retired for good in 2001.  After retirement, he and his wife Rita enjoyed traveling the country.

He is survived by his wife, Rita; son Michael and his wife Shirl; son Ronald and his wife Kristy; daughter Patricia and her husband Ronnie; 10 grandchildren: Ashley, Jeff, Brooklynn, Drew, Jared, Jordan, Joy, Lilly, Leah, and Jewel; one great grandson, Benjamin; and several cousins and lifelong friends in the Netherlands.

A funeral mass for Frits will be held at
St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Georgetown on Monday, November 20 at 10 a.m. and the burial will be held at the Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery in Killeen, Texas at 2 p.m.