Cynthia Bolovan-Fritts

Cynthia Bolovan-Fritts was born June 17, 1961, at Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL, and died October 3, 2017, at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, San Rafael, CA.

Cynthia was a former resident of Whitehouse, OH, where she graduated from Anthony Wayne High School in 1979.  She graduated from Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, with a BS degree in Science, and from the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, with a PhD in Virology.

For most of her career, Dr. Bolovan specialized in research on human herpes viruses, including treatments and cures for the Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV), the leading cause of birth defects and transplant failures, as well as the Herpes Simplex virus.  Her entire career was spent at universities in California, in virology labs at Stanford University in Palo Alto, the University of California San Diego, and the Gladstone Institutes (UCSF) in San Francisco.  Cynthia was a gifted and beloved mentor to young students of virology, and a student award scholarship is being established in her name by Gladstone Director, Dr. Leor Weinberger.

Over her lifetime, Cynthia supported the preservation of nature and the environment, taking many trips to national parks across the United States.  She loved music, taught herself to play the guitar, and was an avid horseback rider, winning ribbons in her high school years.

Cynthia is survived by her husband, Daniel Fritts; father, Dr. Daniel T. Bolovan, MD, and her step-mother, Carolyn, of Fremont, IN, father- and mother-in-law, Dr. David and Arlette Fritts, of Dayton, OH; sisters, Karen Valentine and husband Edward, of Silver City, NM, Dr. Margaret Bolovan, of France, Katherine Danielle (Dani) Bolovan, of Alliance, OH; step-sister, Elizabeth Matranga and husband Theodore, of Bonita, CA; step-brother, David Perry, of Toledo, OH; brother-in-law, David Fritts; sister-in-law, Michelle Fritts Lavoy, of Dayton, OH; niece and nephew, Katherine and Peter Valentine; step-nephews, David Matranga, John Matranga; and niece- and nephew-in-law, Natalie Fritts and Zachary Fritts.

Cynthia was preceded in death by her mother, Bridget McHale Bolovan in 2016; her step-brother, Thomas Perry in 2014; and her sister-in-law, Kelly Boss Fritts.

Donations to the scholarship fund in memory of Dr. Cynthia Bolovan Fritts, may be made to the J. David Gladstone Institutes, Attn: Accounting, 1650 Owens St., San Francisco, CA  94158.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.