Fritz and Fabi Benedict: The Ultimate Partners

 “Collaboration begins with mutual understanding and respect.”
 – Astronaut Ron Garan

Fritz and Fabi Benedict were among the best-known characters in Aspen when I moved there in 1967. Everyone knew them.

Fritz was raised in Wisconsin and studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright who suggested he might consider practicing in Aspen. After being drafted and serving in the 10th Mountain Division as a ski trooper in the mountains of northern Italy, he moved to Aspen where he set up one of the earliest architectural firms. He successfully designed a number of homes in Aspen's West End.

Fritz met Fabi when she came to Aspen from France to visit her sister. Romance bloomed and they were married.

 Having a shrewd eye for land, Fritz purchased Red Mountain Ranch and subdivided it into homesites. Almost every lot faced south and had a magnificent view of Aspen and the ski slopes on Aspen Mountain. Many years later Fritz confided that when it was all said and done, he had made a very small profit on the sale of the lots and was in a lawsuit with the famous author, Leon Uris, over water rights.

 Fritz and Fabi moved into the only existing house on their new purchase even though it was more than a mile from town, on a road that was unpaved and, in winter, unplowed. That first winter they raised hogs, which Fritz had accidentally purchased by raising his hand at the wrong time at an auction in Grand Junction. To feed their hogs Fritz collected slop from the only two restaurants in town, the Red Onion and the Jerome Hotel. He hauled the slop up the mountain on snowshoes until he was stopped by the health department and had to sell his meal ticket. 

 I got to know Fritz much better when I was asked to join the board of directors of the very prestigious Aspen Music Festival. Fritz was chairman of the board, and I knew I was chosen for my business skills rather than my meager knowledge of classical music.

 Our relationship became more than casual when Fritz contacted me in 1975 about the possibility of working together to develop a shopping center at Snowmass Village. Fritz had owned land at the bottom of the ski mountain for many years, and when he was selected to design the original base village, thought it should be placed along Brush Creek, using the creek itself as an amenity. However, he was overruled and instructed to design the original base village halfway up the mountain.

At that time Snowmass was an unincorporated town but growing fast and there was a real need for many essential services including a post office. Our deal was that Fritz’s firm would design the building and I would be in charge of the construction and the rentals. I made a good choice by hiring Greer Construction to build the building.

Our timing was perfect. I already had the building, which I named the Snowmass Center, totally rented by the time we opened. I knew a post office was essential with no mail delivery in the village, everyone would have to go to the post office every day to get their mail. This would bring traffic to help the other businesses. At that time, the locals had to drive ten miles to Aspen to get their mail.

 A grocery store might have a hard time initially with such a small village population, therefore, I selected John Buxman for the grocery because he had experience with a store in tiny Vail. We had multiple applications for a liquor store. I made one of my better business decisions by insisting that whoever signed a liquor store lease would have to also install a pharmacy with an on-site pharmacist. Steve and Barbara Wicks were perfect and are still operating the pharmacy/liquor store almost 50 years later. 

Fritz and I purchased the land across the creek from our shopping center and built phase one of the Ridge Condominiums, another successful project. We owned the property adjacent to the ski run and had plans to build a hotel, but we were concerned about the distance from base village, so, when we received a good offer from another developer, we sold this land. Probably a mistake as he built the Deerbrook Condominiums instead of a hotel and was successful. You can't win them all! 

Pat Maddalone, Fritz and Fabi’s assistant, was extremely protective of their interests. Pat worked so closely with the Benedicts for so many years that she was like a member of the family. Pat saw the benefits of our partnership—Fritz was the creative partner, and I made the business work. 

Fritz and Fabi were wonderful parents and I think that story can best be told in the words of their daughter, Jesse Gordon. 

I was the first to be adopted. I was born in Denver and went through three foster homes by the time I was three-and-a-half years old. Fritz and Fabi picked me up in Denver. When we drove back to Aspen, we stopped in Glenwood Springs to buy clothes, The adoption agency didn't allow me to take any of my belongings so as not to remind me of previous homes.

Fabi said I was so excited that I would tell people "I got a mommy and a daddy...I ben adopted"!

Nicolas came next. He was just about 8 months old and from Grand Junction.

Charlotte and Emilie were from an Aspen family. They were living in the trailer park (below where the Eagles are now) with their alcoholic father and their grandmother. Their mother had abandoned them. The girls (ages 10 and 13) would run around town unsupervised and Fabi petitioned the local social services for custody and somehow got it. There were actually 3 sisters but the third one, Patti, wanted to be adopted by Nate Finesinger's family. 

I think my parents would have adopted as many kids as the authorities would have let them. Fabi really should have opened a children's orphanage! She just loved kids so much!

—Jesse Gordon

 Fritz and Fabi Benedict were incredibly generous and gave a significant amount of very valuable land to charities. They will be remembered forever for their wonderful contributions to the Aspen area. And I will always remember them for our wonderful times together. In many ways I felt that Fritz was like a second father to me. 

Fritz died in 1995. In 1997, I was leaving on a trip to Europe and called Fabi to say goodbye. I was shocked to have John Gordon answer her phone and give me the sad message, “I'm sorry Fabi has taken her pills.” I knew that John was telling me that Fabi had passed away.