The outdoor world is mourning the death of Susie Fitzgerald, one of the pioneers of adventure travel.
Susie and her husband Mike cofounded Frontiers Interational Travel in 1969 with the hope of becoming a one-stop shop for sportsmen and women looking for luxurious, once in a lifetime fishing adventures all over the globe. And to start a successful adventure travel business, obviously she needed to travel! Over the course of building her business, Susie visited fishing lodges around the world, including places like Brazil, Ecuador, Iceland, Mexico, Iran, and Patagonia.
Her perseverance paid off. Over the next 50 years, Frontiers would become a highly successful adventure travel company. With a staff of over 50 people, $40+ million in sales, and a client list that includes U.S. Presidents, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and international dignitaries, Frontiers became a force to be reckoned with.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. They don’t tell about the tiny woman who fiercely battled cancer at the age of 29 while also wrangling small children and building a successful business. They don’t tell about how Susie and Mike changed the face of adventure travel by making it more readily available to the public. And they certainly don’t tell about how one brave woman went looking for adventure in all corners of the world during a time when many of her contemporaries were content to stay home.
Following her cancer diagnosis at 29, Susie underwent a radical mastectomy and had any lingering cancer cells blasted away with radiation. She went on to have 46 more healthy years during which she built her business, raised her kids, and maintained one of the nicest gardens in Western Pennslyvania.
Susie, who lived a long and adventurous life, passed away last week (August 2015) at the age of 76. She will be remembered as a small woman with an enormous spirit who helped pioneer the world of adventure travel.
