Carl Gerhardt Nitz

Carl Gerhardt Nitz was born on October 3, 1942 to Rev. and Mrs. Carl F. Nitz (Edna) in Klamath Falls, Oregon. As the second ‘Carl’ in the household, he quickly became known as ‘Gary’ to family and friends. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Portland where his father served in Lutheran parishes and in the district LCMS office.

After graduating from Concordia High School Carl attended Portland State College and the Advertising Art School. His career included Oregonian/Journal retail distribution and Jantzen Knitting Mills in the warehouse, as a pattern grader and a production engineer. In 1979 he was recruited by Nike to help establish the Nike Women’s Apparel division as a product engineer.  Retirement came after 30 years of working with teams to develop annual clothing lines, traveling to the factories and seeing the company expand and grow with new office sites and many colleagues to share them.

Married to Joyce Rupprecht in 1964 they raised three sons, Timothy, Anthony (Rochelle), and Aaron. He invested his life into his sons, adopting their hobbies and interests as his own resulting in shared quality time. From his earliest years he dedicated himself to family; often he was the one called upon to repair or remodel their homes. He created beautiful environments for his own family; from remodeling the 100-year-old family home or building a camping get-away and adorning those spaces with his paintings and woodworking projects. He was a life-long HO gauge model railroader; having an extensive and detailed layout in his home. He collected and restored many motorcycles as a member of the Oregon Vintage Motorcycles; including his high school ride, a 1951 Harley Davidson Model S125 of which he was especially proud. With his sons, Anthony and Aaron, he took part in Single Action Shooter Society gatherings and competitions. A remarkable craftsman, he created beauty from the humblest materials and tools, leaving behind works of functional and displayed art too numerous to enumerate here.

He is preceded in death by his parents, in-laws Reuben and Lorine Rupprecht, brothers Ted, Wilfred and Ralph, and brother-in-law Mark. Carl is survived by his wife Joyce, three sons, brother Ron (Jackie), sister Naomi (Jolene), brothers-in-law Thomas and James (Jill), sisters-in-law Gail, Judy (Bob), Ruthann (Robert) and many nieces and nephews.

A committal service was held with family members in attendance and it is his wish to have his ashes scattered in the ocean off the Oregon coast.

Should memorials in Carl’s name be considered, the family suggests a non-profit group or museum whose mission is to preserve and share the history of the Pacific Northwest or another charity of donor’s choice.

A Memorial Service will be held on:
Friday, January 3, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Trinity Lutheran Church
5520 NE Killingsworth
Portland, OR

All are invited to the service and reception following at the church.

The family thanks all who have shared their love and care through prayers, visits, cards and calls during Carl’s illness, Trinity Lutheran Church pastors, staff and members, Rose City Funeral Home, many doctors and personnel of Providence Hospital and our Providence Hospice team.