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| Mike and Susie Fitzgerald |
Susie Fitzgerald, co-founder of Frontiers International Travel, passed away on Thursday, August 20 at the age of 76 following complications during heart surgery.
Over the past 50 years Fitzgerald pioneered fly fishing destinations like Christmas Island, Patagonia, Iceland, and the Ponoi River in Russia. She founded Frontiers in 1969, at a time when almost no U.S. travel companies arranged high-end sporting tours. Over the next 50 years, Fitzgerald built Frontiers into a company with over 50 employees and $40 million in sales. In addition to fishing and hunting tours, Frontiers offers photo safaris and adventure travel itineraries worldwide.
Fitzgerald's children, Mike and Mollie, now run the company.
"My parents felt there needed to be a company that really catered to people who wanted to do complex international travel," said her son, Michael Fitzgerald, Jr. "They were one of the early pioneers in adventure travel."
Fitzgerald's family has asked those wishing to make a donation in her memory to consider the following: The Cancer Caring Center of Pittsburgh (www.cancercaring.org) or The Drew Mathieson Center for Horticultural and Agricultural Technology (www.drewmathiesoncenter.com).