Roll Call Tribute

Burt Edwin Moritz III
MAY 31, 1943 – FEBRUARY 18, 2022

Burt Moritz III, age 78, born in Houston Texas, passed away peacefully on February 18, 2022.

He is survived by his high school sweetheart and spouse of 58 years, Agnes Moritz.

He is also survived by his two sons and their families: Burt Edwin Moritz IV, his wife Laura Moritz and daughter Lily Moritz; and James Moritz, his husband Doug Hill, their two kids, Jacqueline and Brendan.

Burt lived a full life! Filled with family, friends, hunting, fishing, flying and has departed this world to be with our Lord. The one and only Burt Moritz III was a man of few words but many actions. He was a devoted husband to his wife Agnes Moritz, his high school sweetheart who he met when they were both 14 years old. He was a devoted father to Burt Edwin Moritz IV and James Monroe Moritz.

Burt was a man who led by example rather than words and held himself to a higher standard. Burt’s father, Burt Edwin Moritz II, was a genius inventor who held numerous patents, including the proximity switch, which was vital to ending World War II. After seeing how his invention helped to make the atomic bomb functional, he quit and became a commercial photographer. His father was also an avid pilot who taught Burt the love of flying, and together they flew to every state in the continental U.S before he passed away when Burt was only 10 years old, leaving Burt the head of the household at a very young age.

Burt's mother, Aileen Petri, was one of the first female pediatricians in Texas with a clinic that took up an entire city block on Montrose Blvd. The clinic was one of the few places where single mothers could get prenatal healthcare (often at no cost) and helped countless families through hardships. Burt once described his mother as Mother Teresa to the public, but he largely had to take care of himself and younger brother Gary Moritz on his own.

Burt Moritz graduated with a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M and could fix anything with whatever was on hand. He took his first and only job at Dow Chemical, where he worked until he took early retirement to start American Expeditions and other endeavors. He found a way he could turn his passion for flying, hunting, and fishing into a business. Burt turned his passions into a business with airplanes, airboats, fishing boats, and marsh buggies. He had repeat customers that loved him so much they kept coming back annually for decades with their families and children who also learned to love the outdoors. He could talk endlessly about his beliefs in freedom and the protection of wildlife, but he was otherwise a man of few words. Burt Moritz was a passionate outdoorsman and conservationist. One of Burt's biggest accomplishments was saving the redfish from potential extinction. He developed a conservation plan and raised funds to use tanks at Dow Chemical to raise fingerlings that ultimately re-populated the entire Gulf Coast with redfish. If it were not for Burt Moritz’s idea to create a hatchery at Dow Chemical, the redfish might be extinct today. Burt’s conservation efforts fulfilled his dream that anyone who wanted to fish along the gulf coast with their children without a boat could do so.

Burt passed on his unique ability to turn his passions in life into a career and lifestyle to his two sons. He taught his sons to become leaders in their field through a hard work ethic while always following their dreams and passions. Burt never accepted the status quo and always followed his own unique path after which both his sons modeled their lives.

His oldest son, Burt Edwin Moritz IV, is also an avid outdoorsman and surfer. Burt IV is an orthopedic surgeon in Hawai`i where he lives with his wife, Laura, and daughter, Lily. His younger son James Moritz moved to New York and followed his grandfather's passion for photography. In New York, James met and married Doug Hill.

Recently, James and Doug founded the Super Phoenix Foundation in honor of his father Burt Moritz. Super Phoenix Foundation is a program designed to help homeless kids who have no family or support system by helping them learn their own self-worth by teaching them the same high standards that Burt Moritz III taught his sons.

Burt was a passionate man who held his wife's hand in public and called her his sweetheart every day until the day he died. He was a friend to many, and after his sons left town to pursue their dreams, he mentored many young men with the same hard work ethic in running the hunting club. He guided many special people and one of the last trips was with the Wounded Warriors. Burt Moritz was generous and very active in the community. He formed the Wild Game Dinner fundraiser for Campus Crusade, a tradition that funded the chapter for many many years.

Burt was a man of principle who lived life to the fullest with actions that set him apart from others. He marched to the beat of his own drum and never was concerned about appearances, etiquette or what other people thought about him but was always there to lend a helping hand to anyone who asked. If someone needed his help he was there for them. According to his wife, Agnes, he never passed someone broken down on the road without stopping to help get them back up and running. It was impossible to narrow down the number of pallbearers at his funeral because Burt’s friendships were so precious and important to him.

The loss of Burt will leave a huge gap in his family’s life forever. The service for Burt Edwin Moritz III will be held at Grace Bible Church in Lake Jackson, Texas, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 25, 2022.