Walter August Pitz

Born June 25, 1927, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to Nicholas and Sylvia Pitz, Walter attended elementary and secondary schools there, and later enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh before completing two years of law school at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

He served in the U.S. Army as a cryptographer from 1952-1954 during the Korean War and was later assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the military arm of NATO, in Paris.

In the late 1950s, Walter met Billiette Mahanna at the same insurance company where they both worked in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Walter said when he first saw Billiette, he thought: “It was almost like a vision …” and remembers thinking at the time, “There’s the girl I want to marry.”

On Sept. 13, 1958, the couple were married in Williston, North Dakota. They soon moved to Chicago and then to the Denver area.

They would go on to have six children.

He spent his career as a claims adjuster for Traveler’s, Horace Mann, Oregon Mutual and other insurance companies. In 1979, Walter moved his family to Aloha, Oregon.

A devout Catholic, Walter and his wife attended Mass at several local Catholic churches.

Walter would lose Billiette, the love of his life, on Sept. 9, 2025.

He also was preceded in death by his parents, Nicholas and Sylvia Pitz, and a brother, Raymond Pitz, who died of polio in 1955 at age 26.

Walter is survived by his six children and their spouses, Ray (Irene) Pitz, Pat (Caroline) Pitz, Mike (Cathy) Pitz, Mary Pitz (Pat Nyquist), Kathy (Pete) Moshinsky and Geralyn (Mike) Ingalls.

He was a loving grandfather to 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, at St. Juan Diego Catholic Church, 5995 N.W. 178th Ave. A private interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery.