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IN LOVING MEMORY OF Gerald Keith Hitz
Gerald Keith
Hitz
August 12, 1921 – December 7, 2007
Gerald Keith Hitz's Obituary
Gerald "Keith" Hitz, 86, died Dec. 7, 2007, at Mennonite Manor.
He was born Aug. 12, 1921, in Topeka, the son of John Finley and Ivey Spangler Hitz. He was a 1938 graduate of Topeka High School. A resident of Hutchinson since 1956, moving from Kodiak, Alaska, he went to work as a Hutchinson Sanitation Inspector, and in 1969, he went to work for the State Board of Agriculture as a meat and poultry inspector and retired there in 1986.
He was a longtime member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, American Legion Lysle Rishel Post No. 68, Fleet Reserve Association and Keenagers. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station for his boot camp. His first ship was the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. He served on many ships during his 20 years in the Navy, but during World War II and the Korean War, it was mostly PT boats. His last two years of service were at Hutchinson Naval Air Base from which he received his discharge. He was one of the last to be discharged and there was no one left to perform this duty, so he was sent back to Great Lakes to receive his discharge in 1958.
On Jan. 29, 1941, he married Margaret Hartung in Bremerton, Wash. She survives.
Other survivors include: two daughters, Connie Dix, Spokane, Wash., and Karen Baxter and husband, Earl, Shawnee; two grandchildren, Brian Baxter and wife, Kim, Swansea, Ill., and Becky Hinkson and husband, Trey, Cottonwood Falls; three step-grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and four step-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Harold F. Hitz; and two sisters, Olive Hyle and Mildred Rankin.
Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, with the Rev. Thomas B. Mendenhall presiding. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary, Hutchinson. Burial will be in Penwell-Gabel Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hutchinson. Military honors will be conducted by the U.S. Naval Honor Guard.
Memorials may be sent to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church or Hospice Care of Kansas, both in care of the mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.
He was born Aug. 12, 1921, in Topeka, the son of John Finley and Ivey Spangler Hitz. He was a 1938 graduate of Topeka High School. A resident of Hutchinson since 1956, moving from Kodiak, Alaska, he went to work as a Hutchinson Sanitation Inspector, and in 1969, he went to work for the State Board of Agriculture as a meat and poultry inspector and retired there in 1986.
He was a longtime member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, American Legion Lysle Rishel Post No. 68, Fleet Reserve Association and Keenagers. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station for his boot camp. His first ship was the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. He served on many ships during his 20 years in the Navy, but during World War II and the Korean War, it was mostly PT boats. His last two years of service were at Hutchinson Naval Air Base from which he received his discharge. He was one of the last to be discharged and there was no one left to perform this duty, so he was sent back to Great Lakes to receive his discharge in 1958.
On Jan. 29, 1941, he married Margaret Hartung in Bremerton, Wash. She survives.
Other survivors include: two daughters, Connie Dix, Spokane, Wash., and Karen Baxter and husband, Earl, Shawnee; two grandchildren, Brian Baxter and wife, Kim, Swansea, Ill., and Becky Hinkson and husband, Trey, Cottonwood Falls; three step-grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and four step-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Harold F. Hitz; and two sisters, Olive Hyle and Mildred Rankin.
Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, with the Rev. Thomas B. Mendenhall presiding. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary, Hutchinson. Burial will be in Penwell-Gabel Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hutchinson. Military honors will be conducted by the U.S. Naval Honor Guard.
Memorials may be sent to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church or Hospice Care of Kansas, both in care of the mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.
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