Jay Meredith Lotz

Brigadier General Jay Meredith Lotz Brigadier General Lotz passed away on September 25, 2020. He was 91 years old. The General was born 31 December 1928 in Portland, Indiana, Jay County. He was named by his grandfather, J.A. Buckmaster. His first name was proposed as just the letter “J” but was mistakenly entered as Jay (Ref: Jay County) and his middle name after the Indiana poet, Meredith Nickolson. He is survived by his spouse Marilyn Jean (Sunderhaus) Lotz, and his 3 children and their spouses, Kevin Jay Lotz (Elaine), Steven Dennis, and Suzanne Lorraine Smith (Stephen). He had three grandchildren, Megin Lotz, Matthew Lotz and Jake Lotz and 3 great-grandchildren, Evie, Emma, and Lucy Jean Lotz. He is survived by his brother Milton B. Lotz. He is preceded in death by his sisters Harriet Ann Adair, Lois Jane England and his parents Lois Louella Buckmaster Lotz and Lester Lotz. General Lotz survived a somewhat tumultuous upbringing with the sad passing of his mother when he was 11 years old. The time was WWII and his father held a critical, demanding and time consuming job as the only tool maker in a local factory in Portland. Hi father’s obligations left him somewhat unsupervised much of the time, however, his family previously had provided a strong foundation and discipline for his upbringing. He was a member of the Boy Scouts and achieved the rank of Life Scout. He was a better than average student and played Varsity Football and Basketball in High School. He played football (right end) on the 1945 Portland High School team that set a state record by being “Undefeated, Untied, and Unscored on” while scoring 309 points to their seven opponents 0 points. He also played on the Varsity Basketball team which went to State Semifinals and was beaten in the afternoon game. After graduating from High School, he worked for a year saving money to attend a vocational school, Lain Drafting College. In September 1947 he enrolled in Lain Drafting College in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a member of the Lain Basketball team and very receptive to the drafting training. In September, 1948, he left school to hire in at Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors. He worked 40 years and 6 months advancing from the position of file clerk for the drafting checking department to the Chief of Drafting position. In June of 1948 when the Selective Service was reinstated, he joined the Indiana National Guard. Thanks to General Motors policies regarding employee participation in the reserve components, he was able to attend the necessary schooling to advance through the military ranks from the position of PVT-E1 to the rank of Brigadier General. On April 4, 1952 he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in Armor and assigned to the 38th Recon CO. A year later the Recon Co. was moved to Linton , IN and it became necessary to relocate his assignment to another branch. He found a vacancy in the 38th Division Artillery serving as H&H Btry XO. After attending the Basic Artillery Officers Course at Ft. Sill, OK, he was assigned as a Forward Observer in a firing battery in Noblesville, IN. His next assignment was back to H&H Btry 38th Div Arty as XO, and then later as Btry Commander. Subsequently, he was later assigned as S-4, 2Bn of 139 Bn, then S-4, 38th Div Arty, then Bn Cdr, 2nd Bn 150th 155 mm&8’ Howitzer Bn, then Bn Cdr, 3rd Bn 139th Honest John Bn. In 1971 he was reassigned as G-4 38th Div. HQ and in1974 was assigned as Chief of Staff, 38th Div. After three years as C of Staff he was appointed Commandant of the Indiana Military Command. He then was considered for appointment as a Brigadier General and was appointed as Assistant Division Commander, 38th Infantry Division. After serving two years as ADC he was reassigned as State Area Commander with the responsibility for contingency plans for state emergencies and special operations. He resigned from the Indiana National Guard in July 1983 after 35years of service. Service schools attended were the Field Artillery Officers Basic Course, The Advanced Artillery Course, The command and General Staff College, and numerous special short courses in maintenance and refresher schools. He was awarded many honors over the years including Sagamore of the Wabash and Kentucky Colonel. Jay met Marilyn on a blind date in 1949. They married in 1950 and enjoyed 70 years together. Jay loved telling the story of their Florida honeymoon trip in their Studebaker with the wooden bumpers. They had three children, and had many vacations camping when the kids were young. He enjoyed a good game of golf whether with his son Steve or his brother Milt. He especially enjoyed his trips to Scotland to play St. Andrews. Jay and Marilyn hosted many parties at their backyard pool. We all have plenty of memories of burning the ham. Jay and Marilyn spent many winters in Englewood Florida, where they would enjoy the warm weather, games of dominoes with his brother and his wife, and spend the days reading and watching sports. In his most recent years Jay enjoyed sitting on his patio, watching the birds and hummingbirds feed and the water sparkle in the pool. Jay’s favorite saying was “Everyday is a good day, just some are better than others.”