Karl Douglas Itschner

ITSCHNER, Karl Douglas, 62, of Tampa, passed away March 20, 2020. Karl was born on June 7, 1957 in Paterson, New Jersey to the late William F and Marion F. (Van Gorkom) Itschner. The youngest of four, Karl had two older brothers, Reed and William, and one older sister, Terry (Filla). He married Belina Quizon Evite in Rosario, Batangas, Philippines on December 2, 1990.

After graduating from North Hunterdon High School in 1975, Karl received his Diploma of Mechanical Design Technology from Somerset County Technical Institute in 1978. He was employed by Parsons Corp as a Senior Designer since 2004, and previously for GPU Nuclear Corp in Parsippany NJ, Ahlstrom Pyropower in San Diego, CA, Foster Wheeler Energy Corp in Clinton, NJ, and PDS Solutions in Saint Petersburg, FL. Throughout his career, Karl had the opportunity to travel and work on projects in Shanghai, China, Varkhaus, Finland, and Atlanta, GA.

Karl enjoyed science fiction and was a fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Big Bang Theory. He could often be found watching these or, at Christmas time, It’s a Wonderful Life. His all-time favorite band was the Beatles, though he liked most rock music. He was also the family handyman, fixing the plumbing, electrical, computer, and even wired his own surround sound system when their house in Tampa was being built. Karl was also a member of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor, FL.

Karl maintained an excellent sense of humor and a positive outlook on life. Once he felt like he had “lost too many golf balls,” he started bowling. He would tell this story of how he still had sand ground into his hip after a spill off a motorcycle that could have been worse, but he landed on his wallet. Through his battle against kidney cancer, he was the patient that would make a joke to the nurses in hopes to brighten their day even just a little. “There’s no point in being upset. It is what it is and the best we can do is try to make things a bit better” was something he often would respond with when the nurses asked how he could be so happy.

Karl is survived by his loving wife, Bel, and daughter, Mia.