- Son Mark Schultze's remembrance posted to Facebook on 18 September 2025.
My Dad, Marty Schultze
Last night, just after midnight, I said goodbye to my dad for the final time.
He was 85 years old, and he filled those years with love, laughter, brilliance, and quiet wisdom. If you knew him, you know the kind of man he was. And if you didn’t—you missed knowing someone truly exceptional.
Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1940, he came to the U.S. with his family as a teenager, eventually settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he met the love of his life, Kathy. They married young and spent the early decades of their life together raising four children and building a home filled with books, music, and endless love.
But it was La Jolla, California, where he truly settled into the rhythm of a joyful life—where he spent more than 40 years surrounded by ocean views, long walks, and the warmth of family and friendships that grew even richer with time.
Dad was a brilliant engineer who worked on the Saturn V rocket, the Gemini Space Capsule, Concord jet proposals, and the F-111 fighter’s flight systems. He later helped invent patented medical devices and eventually ran his own business. He held degrees in Mechanical Engineering and International Business. But his greatest work was the way he showed up—for his wife, his kids, his grandkids, and everyone lucky enough to cross paths with him.
He was deeply curious, quick-witted in the most disarming way, and always looked for the good in people. He loved tennis, golf, bridge, classical music, and any good conversation—preferably over a well-set table.
Even into his 80s, he woke up each day with optimism. “Another day,” he’d say with a smile. He never stopped finding joy in small things, and he never took a single moment for granted.
He was everything to all of us. And always will be.
There won’t be a public service, but if you think of him today—if you hear Bach on the radio, or sip your morning coffee slowly, or look out at the sea and breathe in deeply—that’s him. He’s still here.
Rest easy, Dad. We love you more than words will ever be able to say.
https://www.facebook.com/mark.schultze.56
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1940 - 2025 (85 years)
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