Elmer Witte

Elmer Witte, 85 years young, entered eternal life September 17th 2016. He leaves his son, Victor Witte; his daughter, Marcella Witte; his daughter in law, Kelly Witte; his amazing grandchildren Megan and Samuel; and his dog, Cody. His wife, Domenica Witte, preceded his death on December 13th 2010.

Elmer was born in Great Bend, Kansas to Edward and Ida Witte on January 4th, 1931. He had two brothers, Edward and Ralph, and two sisters, Elnora and Dolores. He had a very humble beginning but had the determination and perseverance to graduate from Kansas State and serve our country in the Air Force. He made his way to California and was hired by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an electrical engineer. This is where he met his wife Domenica Witte. They then bought their house in West Garden Grove, California and had two children.

Although Elmer had a very successful career, landing jobs working on satellites at Aerospace and Northrop Grumman, he always enjoyed expanding his horizons by taking classes in business, finance and real estate, in which he earned his real estate license. When the new technology of computers came out he was always tinkering and trying to learn what made the computer work and how he can make it better. And when Atari came out, no one could beat his high score at Space Invaders! I believe the score is still written in our computer room closet.

Elmer never forgot where he came from, as he was very proud of his farms back in Kansas and his alma mater of Kansas State. He enjoyed staying connected to his home state by these farms and loved going back almost every year to visit family. Using his farming background he turned the backyard into a mini farm by planting various fruit trees and his front yard into a beautiful rose garden.

He loved animals and always adopted cats, dogs and a rabbit from the local shelters. Taking advantage of his woodworking skills he built beds and a rabbit hutch to make these critters more comfortable. He loved to come home after a day of work sit in his favorite recliner and pet his cat while he relaxed after a long day at work.

Once he retired he began to write and dance at the local senior centers. These two new activities were definitely his new passion as he wrote numerous short stories and a book. He always looked forward to going to and socializing with everyone at the senior centers; it was the highlight of his week. He was constantly touched by everyone’s generosity and kindness.

A vigil will be held at Dimond and Shannon Mortuary from 4:00pm – 8:00pm on Friday 9/23/16 with Rosary to be held at 6:30pm, Funeral Service will begin at 10:00am at Dimond and Shannon Mortuary on Saturday 9/24/16 with Graveside to immediately follow at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery , 7845 E. Santiago Canyon Road, Orange, CA 92869.

Arrangements under the direction of Dimond & Shannon Mortuary, Garden Grove, CA.