Well-known restaurateur and golfer Fritz Reiter died on Monday after a two-year battle against cancer. He leaves behind a grieving family and an army of friends that stretched around the world.

Mr. Reiter arrived in Bermuda about 40 years ago from the Black Forest region of Germany to take a position of chef in the Hoppin' John restaurant, now known as The Porch.

He later branched out on his own, opening The Lobster Pot restaurant, which will see its 30th anniversary this April. Mr. Reiter also developed the Port 'O' Call restaurant as well as establishing a restaurant in Florida.

"Fritz was a big man, big in stature and big in heart," said longtime friend and former Tourism Minister Jim Woolridge.

"Whenever you met Fritz the first thing he would say to you was, 'What can I do for you; how can I help you?'

"That speaks volumes about the man. He was always trying to help someone else.

"He was very sports minded, he loved the game of golf," continued Mr. Woolridge. "He played it whenever he could.

"He wanted to give something back to his adopted country, so he established his own golf tournament, the Lobster Pot Invitational. It became second only to the Goodwill Golf Tournament in prestige."

The Lobster Pot Invitational, said Mr. Woolridge, was also Mr. Reiter's way of providing an incentive for tourists to come during winter, tourism's off-season. "Hundreds of people came every year," he said.

"I had the great pleasure to be invited by him to present the prizes and be the principal speaker at the banquet at the conclusion of the tournament. I felt so impressed with the great job he decided to do to promote Bermuda that I offered to provide the trophy for the tournament."

Unfortunately, due to Mr. Reiter's declining health, the Lobster Pot Invitational had not been held for the past three years. "When I last spoke to Fritz, about three weeks ago, he talked about his desire to get the tournament up and running again," said Mr. Woolridge.

"Fritz and his wife Joan contributed a great deal towards the social life as well as tourism here in Bermuda and he will be sorely missed," he said.

"I personally would like to offer my condolences to Joan, (stepdaughters) Lynn and Gillian, and Fritz's two grandchildren. He will forever be remembered as a generous and big-hearted man."