Roll Call Tribute

(Published in) The (Galveston) Daily News (on) December 1, 2012

Ernest Herman Wittig III

Ernest Herman Wittig III, 86, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at Memorial Herman Northwest Hospital in Houston after a brief illness.
 
A fourth generation Galvestonian, Mr. Wittig was born May 4, 1926 to Ida Johanna and Ernest Herman Wittig Jr. He attended Galveston public schools and graduated from Ball High School in 1943.  After graduation, he entered Texas A&M and, the following year, was drafted into the Army, where he spent 22 months at Camp Hood, Texas, received specialized training at Oregon State College, and played the French Horn as a T/5 in the 97th Army Grand Forces Band at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  After being honorably discharged he returned to Texas A&M to complete his studies and married his longtime sweetheart Florence Betty Sanders in June of 1947.  He received his degree in Chemical Engineering in 1948 and joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In his 50 years of Federal Service, Mr. Wittig’s accomplishments have been chronicled by co-workers and superiors alike.  He began his career as materials engineer and then progressed quickly to the upper ranks of the Corps.  He was named Section Chief in 1962 in the Soils Design Section and, in 1965, was promoted to Section Chief for the Coastal Engineering Section.  In 1970, he was named Chief of the Environmental Resources Section, which he established and developed from the ground up.  In 1974, he was named Chief of the Environmental Resources Branch.  In 1977, he was made assistant Chief of the Engineering and Planning Division where he remained until 1986 when he became Assistant Chief of the Engineering Division.  In 1991 he was named acting Chief of the Engineering Division until 1995 when he was named Chief of the Design Branch where he remained until his retirement at 70 years of age.  During his tenure, Mr. Wittig was Field Director for the Galveston Bay Area Pollution Study and served on the City of Galveston Marine Affairs Council.  He served as Chairman of the New Headquarters Building Planning Committee and a winning Army Communities of Excellence Committee. He maintained his Professional Engineering license until the time of his death.  Past and current members of the Galveston Division of the Army Corps of Engineers honored Mr. Wittig by planting a commemorative oak tree on their new campus affectionately named “Ernie’s Oak”.

Mr. Wittig was blessed with a brilliant mathematical mind and enjoyed challenging his co-workers and children with complex math problems.  Co-worker Owen Ralston recalled that “Ernie remembered more calculus from his courses in the ‘40s than I remember from the ‘60s.  He was the only one I knew who ever solved “the goat problem” –a mathematical challenge that puts a goat into a circular pen of 10 acres with the goat tied to a post at one side.  The question is; how long a rope is required to allow the goat to only graze one acre?”   He never shared the answer.

Ernest attended Sunday School and was confirmed in the First Lutheran Church where he was active in the Luther Leagues.  In 1974, he and his wife Florence, joined Zion Lutheran Church where he was active as Treasurer, Lector and Choir member.  In 2006, the couple renewed their membership at First Lutheran Church where they served as tellers.

A beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Ernest loved his family, good food, good wine, classical music and a good joke.  He lovingly cared for his herb gardens and his pets and enjoyed woodworking and household projects.  An avid Aggie football fan, he delighted in watching games with his children.  Ernest was dedicated to his heritage.  He carefully preserved original diaries and keepsakes from his ancestors’ emigration to the United States in the 1800’s and remained fascinated with genealogy until his death.
 
Mr. Wittig was predeceased by his parents, beloved wife of 65 years, Florence, and his grandparents.

He is survived by his four children, Laura Elizabeth Schaaf and husband William, Elsa Christine Howe and husband John, Lisa Claire Wittig-Oliver and Mark Ernest Wittig, his grandchildren, Aaron Christopher Lowe and wife Kara, Elissa Bette Lowe and longtime boyfriend Jacob Latham, Alexander Bailey Howe, Brian James Howe and wife Molly, and his great-granddaughter Summer Elizabeth Lowe.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. at J. Levy & Termini Funeral Home, 2128 Broadway, Galveston, Texas. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 3, 2012 at 1:00 P.M. at First Lutheran Church, 2415 Winnie Street, Galveston,Texas, with Reverend Douglas Guthier officiating. Interment will follow at Old City Cemetery in Galveston, on Broadway at 40th Street and Avenue K.

Ernie’s family wishes to express their sincere thanks to the members of Houston Fire and Rescue Team #6, the staff and doctors in the Emergency Room and 3rd floor North ICU of Memorial Herman Northwest Hospital for their compassion and care of our dearest loved one.