Carl Frischkorn, a true Renaissance man, died suddenly and peacefully on August 6, 2020. A native of Huntingdon, W.Va., he came to us from Tabor Academy. At Princeton, he was an architecture major and a member of Ivy Club; his roommates included classmates Walter Haydock, Bob Hermann, and David Page, and David Kelso ’74.
Carl was an entrepreneur, environmentalist, philanthropist, and community supporter. A mentor to young men and women, Carl organized numerous start-ups, established the West Virginia YPO chapter, and founded The Catterton Group, a nationally recognized investment firm. The United Way and Boys & Girls Club were beneficiaries of his enormous generosity.
Flying, motorcycles, hiking, reading, and wine were passions. He met his beloved wife, Pattie Carbone Frischkorn, while on a mountain bike tour near their farm in Charlottesville, Va. A raconteur with no equal, spiced with a cringe-worthy, hilarious sense of humor, Carl challenged people’s thinking with intellectual rigor. As a close friend remarked, “If I had a personal Board of Directors, I would want Carl as chairman. If he wasn’t the smartest guy in the room, he was the wisest.”
Carl and his first wife, Rebecca Trafton ’75, had three children: Will Frischkorn, Virginia Frischkorn, and Frances Grace. He was devoted to them, and they described him as their rock. In addition to Pattie, Rebecca, and his children, he leaves five grandchildren (Holden, Huxley, Elizabeth, Zach, and Percy) and Pattie's children (Peter, Greg, Corinna, and Jack). He is also survived by two brothers, a sister, and nephews and nieces. A third brother predeceased him.
Our Class is much poorer with his untimely passing.