John Aaron Fitch
December 21, 1951 — July 6, 2012
A memorial service celebrating Aaron's life will be held at 2 P.M. on Friday, July 13, 2012 at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 67 N. Fifth Street, Newark with the Rev. William J. Rauch as celebrant.
Aaron grew up in Grandview Heights, moved to Montana, then returned to Ohio and graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. His career began with the oversight of a major renovation of the Bradbury Science Museum at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He then worked for many years as an exhibit designer and as Art Director of the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Ky. He became the Director of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in 1997, and worked in that capacity for several years. More recently he has enjoyed working as a trim carpenter and OTR truck and bus driver. He was proud to have served as the lead trim carpenter on the Ohio Courts Building restoration in 2002.
Aaron was devoted to his family and was a beloved husband, father, son and brother. He was a talented artist, a motorcycle enthusiast and earned a black belt in Karate. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and thoroughly versed himself in all that he found interesting.
He is survived by his mother, Marilyn Fitch Raidt; wife, Mary Sheppard Fitch; son, John Clayton Fitch; daughter, Hannah Virginia Fitch; brothers, Amery (Kathy) and Adrian (Laura) Fitch; sisters, Amity Edwards and Abigail Rase (Bill); step-sister, Jenny Peters; and nieces and nephews, Allison, Mitchell, Monica, Corinne, Hunter, Dylan, Elizabeth, K. Kim, Paul, Nina, Lydia, Ava and others. Aaron is preceded in death by his father, Joe M. Fitch and stepfather, Bill Raidt.
Arrangements are in the care of McPeek-Hoekstra Funeral Home in Granville. Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcpeekhoekstra.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Brain Tumor Institute Research and Education Fund at the Cleveland Clinic. Mail to CCF, P.O. Box 931517, Cleveland, OH 44193. Important: Please write 'John Aaron Fitch' in the memo space on your check.