Lance Wittlif

Lance Wittlif was born on October 19th, 1947, in San Antonio, Texas. He lived a life of adventure and service, both in the military and as a teacher in public schools. After a courageous battle against Multiple Myeloma that spanned the length of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, Lance passed away on March 7th, 2022, at the age of 74, feeling no pain and holding his son's hand in Austin, Texas.

Lance found his spiritual home one fateful spring break while studying at the University of Texas at Austin. He and his friend Wallace decided to pick a random direction and drive just as far as they liked. They picked a spot on the compass just a hair south of due west and drove all the way to Big Bend National Park, where the short-sleeved young men were humbled, awed, and just a little burned by the serene desert landscape. Lance would return to Big Bend throughout his life (with more carefully chosen kit and gear) to find peace, inspiration, and rejuvenation in the desert air. And while Lance savored any chance to photograph the natural world, the desert was his favorite muse.

After graduating from UT Austin, military service gave Lance the opportunity to travel the world, with long stays in Germany, South Korea, and many other locations. He also served in the Washington DC Honor Guard, providing quiet dignity and grace to families grieving irreplaceable losses. It was during this period of his life that Lance developed a love for long distance running; forever after, any song that Lance heard would be evaluated as a potential running song. He ran in too many marathons to list here, a passion that kept him more fit and active than many men half his age.

Throughout his adventurous youth, Lance never anticipated settling down. But as he once described it, when he grew a bit older, the instinct to start a family came on quite suddenly. With his wife Catherine, he retired from the U.S. Army at the rank of Major and decided to serve as a teacher instead. He spent decades teaching history, English, and the German language in the city of his birth, San Antonio. Teaching history in Texas is a unique challenge, one which Lance met head-on. Neither political pressure nor standardized testing dogma could keep Lance from bringing the light of true academic curiosity to his students.

Lance's charisma, cherished by his friends and family, could occasionally be seen on the stage. Among his many roles in the theater, he performed in productions of A Few Good Men, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Stalag 17, and 1776, the lyrics of which he kept memorized in his remarkable, encyclopedic mind throughout his entire life. An avid reader, Lance especially found kinship in the wanderlust of Tolkien, the historical curiosity of Sansom, the insight of Eliot, and the keen observations of Doyle. If Lance could have visited Doyle's London, one suspects that Sherlock Holmes may have finally met his equal.

Lance's legacy lives on through his daughter and son, Caitlin and Edward, his ex-wife Catherine, his beloved sister Faith, his niece Shannon and his nephew Demian, his found family of trusted friends, and his magnificent collie Ciara, as well as through the hundreds upon hundreds of students in whom he inspired a genuine passion and curiosity for history and education. Students who cite his classes as formative learning experiences have gone on to work as political activists, artists, engineers, and historians. This is yet another lesson one can learn from Lance Wittlif: that a good teacher leaves an enduring mark on the world.

Throughout his life, Lance adopted many dogs, with a particular affinity for collies (and some very, very special shelties), each pup a loyal companion on long walks and adventures. Lance was also somewhat infamous for preferring gifts of utility rather than gifts of decoration, although he begrudgingly accepted the occasional mug at Christmastime. In keeping with his idiosyncratic personality and deeply felt wishes, Lance's family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the San Antonio Humane Society so that more dogs can find loving homes.

If one should ever want to visit Lance, Big Bend National Park welcomes all visitors. And if the spirit truly moves you, pick a spot on the compass just a hair south of due west and find out where your own road leads.

A celebration of life is to be held at the Cook-Walden Funeral Home at 6100 N Lamar in Austin, Texas this Saturday, March 19. The celebration will begin at 2PM CST, and will probably last about two hours. If you are attending in person, we encourage mask-wearing for the safety of everyone. There will also be live stream links sent out for those who cannot attend - please contact Caitlin or Edward Wittlif if you would like access to that link.

Here are three organizations Lance supported where you can donate in his honor:

The San Antonio Humane Society

The Trail Foundation

The Blanton Museum of Art