William Karl Schlotter III

William Karl Schlotter III, 89, of Stafford, Virginia passed away on Friday, March 3, 2017. William was the oldest of three children, born October 1, 1927 to William and Helen Schlotter of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Osia and is survived by their four children, William Karl Schlotter IV (Ann) of Lake City, Pa., Susan Dawn Saunders (Cleve) of Locust Grove, Va. James Steven Schlotter of Stafford, Va., and Betsy Annette Heimlich (Michael) of Powell, Oh. He is also survived by his sister, Barbara Strachan and was preceded in death by his sister Gretchen Hazeltine. Known as “Poppy” by his eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren, Bill was a gentleman farmer at heart and found great joy in tending to his land, his garden, his horses and multiple dogs and cats. William once said his happiest times were at his home in Stafford in the company of his wife and children during all those “wonderful” family dinners and get-togethers. Bill and his lovely wife were married on March 3, 1950. William passed away on what would have been their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary. William served twenty years in the US Army retiring as a Master Sergeant. He was stationed in Italy, during the clean up at the end of World War ll. He fought and served proudly in Korea during the Korean War and retired from Fort Lewis, Washington during the War in Vietnam. During his active duty service, William and his family were also stationed in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Germany, California and Idaho. During those times, multiple cross country trips were made with the whole family packed into Bill’s “pink Rambler”. The stories from those trips and the memories of camping in Bill’s enormous, green, US Army tent are now treasured by the entire family. After he retired from the Army, “Poppy” joined the US Postal Service where he served for twenty-two years as a mail carrier in both Springfield, Virginia and Stafford, Virginia. William was a loving husband, a wonderful father and a source of constant strength for his family. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. A graveside service will be held on Friday, March 31, 2017 at 1:00 pm in Quantico National Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent at www.mullinsthompsonstafford.com