Wayne Albert Mautz

Colonel (Retired) Wayne A. Mautz, Sr., 91, passed away on May 1, 2014. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Rita. In his final days he had 3 excellent care-givers, Robert, Elizabeth and Liz Crosby. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio and after completing high school began his studies at The Ohio State University; but his education was interrupted by being drafted for WWII. In the war, he was a radio operator for the 1st Signal Corps. in the Big Red One, the first division to land ashore at Normandy beach on D-Day. He was involved in the Battle of the Bulge in the Huertgen Forest, liberating western and southern Germany and finished the war near the city of Plzen in the Czech Republic. After the war, he returned to finish his degree in Business. His love for the military led him back to the Army and following his training at Ft. Sill, was commissioned as an officer. He had 2 long assignments in Germany in the cities of Landshut, Frankfurt and Heidelberg, where he traced his family’s ancestry around the Stuttgart area. Wayne served in the Korean War, later taught ROTC at the University of Missouri, was an Army liaison in Colorado Springs at NORAD, and commanded a battalion in Milwaukee; and following an assignment in the Viet Nam War led the Army Air Defense School for the Safeguard Air Defense program at Ft. Bliss prior to retiring from the military in 1975. He loved living in El Paso and following his military career, Wayne applied his business training to obtain a real estate license, and later the broker’s license to start his own business. His favorite activity was to work at the land sales office near Hueco Tanks State Park in the 1980’s, where food was prepared and enjoyed with the magnificent desert views in the background. Wayne is survived by his sons Wayne Jr. and Karl; his first wife Imogene, grandchildren Laura, Sean, Alyssa and Brandon; great-grandchildren Kaden and Alea; and nieces Marilyn, Marjorie, and Marianne. A celebration of his life will be held on from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. with a Funeral Service to begin at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at the Sunset Funeral Home- East located at 750 N. Carolina Dr. A Graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery with full military honors. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home-East.