OT: Memorial to Am. Heart Assoc. for Bob Fortel

[Kara Pritchard <kara@luci.org>]

We just got email from Bob the week of our Fortel's Pizza Christmas party 
about the possibility of opening a store in the Metro East.  I was very 
suprised to hear about this on the news tonight.

They are taking memorials in his name at the American Heart Association.  
I'd like to collect from everyone who's interested and do a group 
donation.

I may seem silly, but most of our parties the last couple years have been 
fed by Fortels, and even most of our personal orders filled by someone in 
the Fortel family.  They are very nice, and I'm very sorry to hear about 
this.

If you want to participate, make your check out to the AHA and mail it to 
me (email me for a mailing address... I don't want my address archived).  
I'll send in the group donation next week. 

Story follows.

-- 
Kara Pritchard                          Phone: 618-398-7360
Director of Exam Development            http://www.lpi.org/
--


Fortel

Owner of Fortel's Pizza Dens dies at age 53

Below is the link to the story.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/8468F3D2DB32438086256CB600831EB0?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2Cbob%2Cfortel&headline=Owner+of+Fortel's+Pizza+Dens+dies+at+age+53

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Below is the story.
Robert J. "Bob" Fortel, owner of nine Fortel's Pizza Dens in the St. Louis
area, saw his dream of owning a restaurant chain become a reality.

Mr. Fortel, who had hoped to one day to go national with Fortel's Pizza
Dens, "where the ovens are always on," died Tuesday (Jan. 21, 2003) of a
heart arrhythmia he suffered in his car on the way to dinner in downtown
St. Louis. He was 53 and lived in Sunset Hills.

Born in St. Louis, Mr. Fortel started cooking for his family as a child,
and soon discovered his love of the culinary arts.

He married Janet M. Arbogast Fortel in 1971.

Mr. Fortel studied culinary arts at St. Louis Community College at Forest
Park and began his career as a chef and bartender on the Robert E. Lee
Riverboat on the St. Louis riverfront. He later worked as a food service
director at Lindenwood College, now university.

In 1981, Mr. Fortel and his wife bought the Pizza Den in Affton, the
carry-out and delivery parlor where he had worked as a teen-ager. They
renamed it Fortel's Pizza Den, and he served the customers, using his own
recipes for dough, sauce and sausage and his own mixture of cheese.

Then in 1993, the Fortels took over the whole building and added a sit-down
restaurant, doubling their capacity.

Mr. Fortel and his family began franchising their restaurant in 1999, and
have opened eight more stores since then. They operated Fortel's Pizza Dens
in Affton, Kirkwood, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Mo., Arnold, Florissant,
Ballwin, Eureka and Bridgeton.

Mr. Fortel and his oldest daughter, Shelly Fortel-Helfrich of Oakville,
performed in radio commercials for Fortel's Pizza Dens for many years. He
would always tease her on-air with the phrase, "I taught her everything she
knows," and then moments later, she would quip that she knew better.

He and his family also appeared in television commercials.



For the last several years, Mr. Fortel oversaw the stores from his home due
to his failing health.

In 2000, Mr. Fortel was honored by the Affton Chamber of Commerce with a
Businessperson of the Month Award for his years of service to the
community.

In 2001, Mr. Fortel lead the effort to demolish the dilapidated gas station
at the corner of Mackenzie and Heege roads, next to his restaurant in
Affton. He later bought and began redeveloping the site.

Memorial visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday at Kutis Affton Chapel,
10151 Gravois Road. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday
at St. Justin The Martyr Catholic Church, 11910 Eddie and Park Road, Sunset
Hills. Interment will be private.

In addition to his wife, and his daughter, Shelly, his survivors include a
daughters, Shannon Keller of Fenton; his parents, Robert and Mary Fortel of
St. Louis; three sisters, Pat McGillick and Denise Fortel, both of St.
Louis County and Colleen Hebron of Affton; a brother, Tom Fortel of Big
Sur, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association,
Memorial Processing Center, 5375 Southwest Seventh Street, Topeka, Kan.
66606.





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