Carl Vitu Schatz

Carl Vitu Schatz of Clear Lake City, Texas, passed away on Sunday, November 8, 2015, surrounded by family members after a courageous battle with melanoma cancer. He felt victorious in winning a fight that began in 1991 and ended more than twenty-four years later.

He was born in West End, Alabama, on February 6, 1937 to Richard C. and Alice Wheeler Schatz and enjoyed growing up there, attending Robert E. Lee Elementary and West End HIgh School. Football was his game in high school, No. 43 right tackle on the B team with leather helmets and No. 53 right tackle on the A team, playing in the 1953 Crippled Children's Clinic football game in Birmingham, Alabama. He enjoyed renewing friendships with classmates from kindergarten through high school at the many reunions he attended.

After graduating from high school in 1955, he drove to Auburn, Alabama in his '53 Ford with $500 in his pocket to enroll at Alabama Polytechnic Institute. He worked his way through the school years, at Acipco in Birmingham, Alabama and a foundry in Opelika, Alabama, making $1 per hour, to graduate in 1960 in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. In 1956, he met his future wife, Mary Ann Barton, an Auburn student, and following their marriage on July 11, 1959, he made his highest grades ever that quarter, making the dean's list.

In early 1961, Carl started his career in mechanical engineering at Olin Mathieson in McIntosh, Alabama, transferring to several locations over a dedicated career of thirty-five years. He was proud to be an integral part of the development team for Olin's 3" Super Tab chlorine treatment for swimming pools. He enjoyed the challenges and solutions presented in mechanical engineering, often saying, "It's not work if you love what you do".

Carl was a Christian man, a member of Clear Lake United Methodist Church. His faith was strong and was always willing to lend a helping hand. After retiring, he enjoyed the piney woods in Pinson, Alabama, where he salvaged only the dead trees with his one-man sawmill. There was always a piece of equipment to repair and he had that special talent to fix things. And the clocks! He discovered Schatz clocks and never passed one up.

Carl felt his greatest accomplishment was his children, Steve, Brian and Lisa. He is survived by son Steven Barton Schatz (Lynnae) and grandchildren Hannah and Nathan; son Brian Richard Schatz (April) and grandchildren Autumn and Logan; loving wife of fifty-six years, Mary Ann Schatz, and faithful dog Rustina. Great joy came to Grand Carl being a part of his grandchildren's lives. He is also survived by his sister, Beverly Ann Smith, and nieces and nephews Debbie, Suzie, Kathy, Mike and Gene and their families. He is predeceased by his daughter, Lisa Lynn Schatz and his father and mother, Richard C. and Alice Wheeler Schatz.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2015, from 3pm to 5pm at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home & Gardens in Trussville, Alabama, followed by a Graveside Service on Monday, November 16, 2015, at 12 Noon. In lieu of flowers, please consider MD Anderson Cancer Center, Melanoma and Skin Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486, Phone 713-792-3450 or 800-525-5841, or your charity of choice.