Henry L. Stelzig

Henry Leo Stelzig, Jr.Houston , TXHenry Leo Stelzig, Jr., age 87, passed away on the 18th of January 2013 in Houston. A native Houstonian, Leo was born on the 3rd of March 1925 to Henry Leo Stelzig, Sr. and Frances Swan Stelzig. Leo was the grandson of pioneering saddle maker Antone Stelzig. The Stelzig family emigrated from Austria to Texas to continue their trade of saddle and harness making. By 1850, the family opened its own store in Richmond. It relocated to Brenham and then downtown Houston for almost a century before moving uptown to the Galleria area in the 1980's. Leo was the third generation of the Stelzig Saddlery Company. The 153 year old family owned business spanning five generations served everyone from foreign dignitaries to American Presidents, oil barons and pop icons, to your everyday urban cowboy. They sold more Edward H. Bohlen saddles during the depression than any other dealer in the US. No other western store has succeeded in duplicating the Stelzig store in its friendliness of Western traditions. Leo was inducted into the 2002 Western Image Awards Hall of Fame as the owner of Stelzig of Texas. Upon graduation from Lamar High School in 1942 Leo proudly served his country by joining the Army. He served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater where he participated in the Battle of Leyte and the Battle of Okinawa with the 388th Anti-Aircraft Artillery. He was discharged in 1946 and enrolled at the University of Houston where he earned his BBA in 1949. During his teenage years Leo developed a lifelong love for fishing while spending many a weekend with his father at their Christmas Point Camp. He later shared his love of the sport and of the outdoors with his family at his bay house on Galveston Bay. Retirement found Leo and his wife Millie spending many wonderful years of fishing and just having fun with the Guadalupe St. Neighbors and the Thirsty Thursday Group.He was a lifetime director of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and Diplomat and member of the International Committee of HLS&R. He was also a member of the Harris County Sheriff's Posse.An outward focused person who rarely spoke of himself, a humble man, he had a quick dry wit, one of many qualities that endeared him to people. His commitment to integrity was well known and unmatched. With his passing, is the passing of an age.He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Millie; son, Henry L. Stelzig III, and wife Donaji Stelzig; daughter, Frances Stelzig-Butler and husband Wade Butler; son, Charles Conrad Stelzig; daughter, Marlee Stelzig-Nickerson and husband Jerry Nickerson; stepson, Chris G. Thodos; and stepdaughter, Maria Thodos McIver and husband Michael McIver; grandchildren, Joshua Butler and wife Denise Butler, Kristen Butler, Kate Nickerson, Jerry Nickerson III; great granddaughter, Quinn Noel Butler; and cousin, Robert Davis and wife Sherry Davis.He was predeceased by his parents Henry Leo Stelzig, Sr., and Frances Swan Stelzig; and his late beloved wife, Martha Sauer Stelzig, of 49 years. The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to Dr. E. Bernicker, Dr. C. Finnila at the Houston Medical Clinic and their staffs, who cared for him through his difficult illness. The family wishes also to convey their thanks to the staff at St. Luke's Kirby Glen facility, especially Betsy, Tracy, Rina and Susan, for their expertise, attention and compassion. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock in the evening on Thursday, the 24th of January, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. A graveside service is to be conducted at ten o'clock in the morning on Friday, the 25th of January, at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, 6900 Lawndale Street in Houston, where Rev. Wade Butler is to officiate. A uniformed steward from Geo. H. Lewis & Sons is to be positioned at the cemetery entrance so as to direct guests to the interment site.In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in Leo's memory, may be directed to the Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS, 66675; the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Fund, Attn: Catherine Hauck, P.O. Box 20070 Houston, TX, 77225; or to the charity of one's choice.