Karl Waltzer's Obituary
Karl Waltzer adored his family.
More than anything else he achieved in life, his 42-year marriage to his wife and his relationship with his four children were his greatest accomplishments.
Karl Eric Waltzer was born on June 5, 1957, in Austin, Texas to Elroy and Carolyn Waltzer, but West Virginia is where he called home. A devout WVU fan, he was a Mountaineer through and through.
Karl loved his parents. He loved practicing art like his father, and he loved to read and discuss ideas like his mother.
Karl has three younger siblings – his sister, Leslie, who selflessly donated her kidney to him as he battled Polycystic Kidney Disease; his sister, Carol Lee, with whom he loved visiting and traveling to local events; and his brother, Kurt, with whom he loved exploring the outdoors – camping, backpacking, and an epic bike riding tour.
But Karl’s most cherished relationship was with his wife, Victoria Waltzer.
They met at a friend’s party in 1980 in Charleston, South Carolina, and went on to have four children and a long marriage full of love, admiration, and dedication to being the best partner for one another. They were each other’s best friend.
And if you really wanted to see Karl happy, tell him his kids were coming to visit. Erica, Paul, Allison, and Laura were his greatest gifts. He’d spend hours on the phone talking with them about endless topics – he particularly liked to gripe about how certain politicians were idiots.
One topic, though, Karl hardly discussed was his career. Partly because he couldn’t, but mostly because he cared more about what his wife and kids were up to.
He served as the Senior Scientific and Technical advisor for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and was responsible for the development, integration, and implementation of nuclear safety requirements for operation at Pantex and Y-12, key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise.
In 2014, after 35 years of government service NNSA Administrator Lt. General (Ret.) Frank Klots presented Karl with the NNSA Gold Medal Award in recognition of his distinguished achievements in support of national security programs.
After his retirement from the government, Karl served eight years as Senior Engineer at the engineering firm, Bechtel.
Karl passed away July 1st, surrounded by his wife and children, after a two-year battle with Merkel cell carcinoma. He was 67 years old.
He is survived by his parents, his brother and sisters, his wife and four children, his two sons-in-law, Tyson and Mike, his daughter-in-law, Bailey, and his two grandchildren, Karly and Wesley, with his third, Benjamin Karl, on the way. Besides his kids, nothing made him smile more than playing with his grandkids.
A memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the PKD Foundation https://pkdcure.org/ or the American Cancer Society https://donate.cancer.org/
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.loudounfuneralchapl.com
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