Fritz Wenisch, Ph.D.

Fritz Wenisch, Ph.D., 75, of Narragansett, RI, passed away Thursday, January 30th after a brief illness. He was the beloved husband of Theresia (Weinknecht) Wenisch for 51 years. Born in Austria, he was the son of the late Ernst and Ilse (Ehrenhoefer) Wenisch. He received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Salzburg in 1968. Dr. Wenisch was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rhode Island where he taught for 48 years. He served as Department Chair from 1974-1991 and retired in May of 2019. He was the author of numerous books, translations, and articles. Among his books are The Objectivity of Values; Philosophy and its Methods; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; and Is Faith in the Gospels Irrational? For over a decade, he contributed to the "Face of Religion" column in the Providence Journal. He was also a significant contributor to the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project where he gave several talks exploring the philosophy of Dietrich von Hildebrand. He was an active member of St. Thomas More Parish in Narragansett where he served as an extraordinary minister and was a member of the mens prayer group. Besides his wife he is survived by three children, Michael Wenisch and his wife Michelle of Rockville, MD; Magdalena Andres, her husband Frank, and their sons Ian and Peter of Jamestown, RI; and Thomas Wenisch, his wife Shannon, and their son Ansel of Madison, WI. He is survived by three sisters, Pia Crosby, her husband John of Steubenville, OH, and their children John Henry, Josef, Maria, Paul, Jane, and Michael; Sr. Freude Maria of Saint Laurent du Pont, France; and Elisabeth Wenisch of Vienna, Austria. He is survived by two brothers, Bernhard Wenisch and his wife Waltraud of Salzburg, Austria; and Johannes Wenisch of Salzburg, Austria. He is preceded in death by his sister Maria Wenisch. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10am Saturday, February 22nd at St. Thomas More Church, 53 Rockland Street, Narragansett with burial at St. Francis Cemetery, Peace Dale, immediately following. Visiting hours are at Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, RI, Friday, February 21st, 5-7pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hildebrand Project, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, OH 43952 (http://www.hildebrandproject.org/giving/main-giving-page).