Willy Lutz, 69, of Peachtree City, Ga., died Saturday February 22, 2014 in LaGrange Ga., as the result of a tragic airplane accident.
He was born to the late Willhelm and Josefa Lutz, Nov 06, 1944, in Winterthur, Switzerland. Willy graduated in 1965 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He married Wendy Henderson in 1976 in New England. That marriage ended in divorce. Willy remarried Marilyn Stack in 1991, and lived in Herndon VA, where he raised his three youngest step-children, before relocating to Peachtree City, Ga. in 2002.
Willy came to the US in the 1960’s, where he started several automotive businesses, however his greatest passion was aviation. He started flying gliders at the age of 14 in Switzerland, then made a mid-career shift in his early 40s to flying full time. Willy held numerous flight ratings, including Flight Instructor, Commercial Glider, Airline Transport Pilot (type rated Dash-8, Boeing 757/767), both Turboprop and Jet multi-engine, Seaplane, Instrument, and Check Airman, accumulating more than 12,000 hours of flight time.
Willy was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the BMW Car Club of America, and the Swiss Rifles Club of Washington DC. He loved to travel, garden in his yard, ski, and research his genealogy.
Willy is survived by his wife of 23 years, Marilyn Lutz of Peachtree City; two sons: Willy A Lutz Jr. of South Riding, Va. and Antone Lutz of Hartland, Vt.; seven step-children: Diana Stack of Salt Lake City, Utah, Matthew Stack of Falls Church ,Va., Alexander Stack of Daly City Calif., Valerie Waite of North Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen Stack of Medford Ore., Jennifer Wheeler of Phoenix Ariz., and Brendan C. Stack Jr. of Roland Ark. He is also survived by 20 grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made out to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, (www.lls.org), Georgia Chapter. Tributes and photos can be seen at www.willylutz.com.
The family will receive visitors from 5-8 p.m. Friday, February 28th at Mowell & Son Funeral Home in Peachtree City. On Saturday, March 1st at 11 a.m., a celebration of life will be held at the Peachtree City Ward meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 101 Peachtree Pkwy. Bishop Corbridge will officiate.
Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City- www.mowellfuneralhome.com
