TILLAMOOK, Oregon — Fred Frantz, inventor and tinkering genius passed away on April 30, 2015, while searching the mountains in Nevada for rare and precious stones. He was 60 years old. Frantz was an important, yet quiet industry icon who made many inventions in the water park and theme park industry come to life that are played on by millions of families worldwide today. Best known for co-inventing giant water play structures with the dumping bucket of water at water parks he also created Super Saturator coasters, Foam Factories, MagiQuest, and many other iconic industry innovations. The First tree house dumping bucket was built and installed in 1995 at White Water Water Park in Marietta, Georgia. Frantz was instrumental in making this attraction come to life. There are great stories of how he and his daughter (who was just a little kid at the time) wore wetsuits and stood under a “test” big dumping bucket in the freezing cold rain of Tillamook. Frantz also built attractions for children’s museums around the country. He loved to create places where kids and families could play.

A welder, tinker and inventor by training, Frantz founded The Metal Mender, at the Port of Tillamook, Oregon in 1984. He became a founding partner, designer, and engineer for SCS Interactive in 1989 and with Creative Kingdoms in 2002. When he wasn’t building the latest big idea for theme parks, Frantz enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson on the back roads of Oregon and traveling the world. He especially loved the deserts, exploring, spelunking, collecting and mining for rare rocks and gems.

Frantz is survived by his daughter Mahonia Whitney Overbye (Nia), husband Todd Overbye, and children Jonathan and Makenna, of Fruita, Colorado, step-daughter Melanie Zallee, husband Van Zallee, and children Emma, Leah, Elijah, and Sarah of Portland, Oregon, and siblings, Sharon Frantz, Diane Nosal, David Frantz, Laura Herrington, with 14 nieces and nephews. The many people who worked for and with him in his many business ventures and neighbors, were his extended family.

In an effort to remember him and all he stood for, his partners Denise Weston, Rick Briggs and Jonathan Barney, alongside his family, have started an education and training fund at a local community college in his home town. The fund was named “Pass the Torch” in Frantz’s memory, given the many people he has mentored over the decades with his skill and support of the trade he loved so much.

Contributions to the “pass the torch” fund may be made at Fredfrantzfund.com.

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