Schlotfeldt, William West 1925-2003

SCHLOTFELDT, KLEWER, SIGNS, JACKSON, SAMPLE, KOPPIN

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 10/28/2005 at 21:56:04

GALVESTON, Texas – William "Bill" West Schlotfeldt, 77, of Bayou Vista, formerly of Newton, died Monday, June 30, at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston.

Funeral services will be held at noon Thursday at Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Richard Goodrich officiating. Burial will follow at Houston National Cemetery in Houston under the direction of Carnes Brothers Funeral Home.

Visitation will be held from 5 until 8 p.m. today at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home in Galveston, Texas, with a Marine Corps presentation at 5 p.m. and the Tucker Lodge No. 297 AF I AM services at 7 p.m. Memorials may be made in his name to the Alzheimer's Association, 2909 W. Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77025, or to the charity of the donor's choice.

The son of Dale William and Agnes Bertha (Klewer) Schlotfeldt, he was born July 9, 1925, in Des Moines. He graduated from Newton Senior High School in 1943. He then enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on Aug. 25, 1943, and served in World War II in the South Pacific and then in Korea from 1950 until 1952. He rose to the rank of sergeant while serving with the 1st Battalion, 11th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. He earned three battle stars while seeing fierce combat during the Cape Gloucester, Peleliu and Okinawa campaigns. He served as a forward communication observer for light artillery during those invasions and through his trusted friend, Joe, a Navajo Indian "code talker," relayed vital information to Marine artillery positions exclusively in the Navajo language, a code the Japanese never broke. Mr. Schlotfeldt was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations for heroism during the Peleliu and Okinawa engagements. After the war, he served in China and was then called back into active duty during the Korean Conflict.

On Aug. 11, 1946, he married Marjorie Alyce Signs. He was the general manager for Schlotfeldt Olds and Cadillac in Newton from 1946 until 1956. He located to Houston in 1956, where he was the sales manager and executive vice president of Duffy & Company Real Estate and president of First Fannin Realty. He became an independent real estate broker in 1979 and continued in the real estate investment business, buying, selling, remodeling and leasing homes and apartments as Bay Area Homes.

Mr. Schlotfeldt was a life director of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the Houston business leaders to re-establish the Houston Farm and Ranch Club, a member of the National Auto Dealers Association, and of the National, Texas and Houston Apartment Associations. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Houston, where he was a past president and currently a member of the Galveston Downtown Rotary Club. He was a member of the Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church of Galveston.

Survivors include his wife; twin daughters and two sons-in-law, Deborah S. and Gareth Jackson of Long Beach, Calif. and Judith A. and Donald Sample of Caracas, Venezuela; a grandchild; sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Pete Koppin of Newton; a cousin; numerous nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

The Newton (IA) Daily News, Wednesday, July 2, 2003