Harold Ernest Walter Wittke

Harald Walter Wittke rejoined his beloved wife Tina on December 4, 2022. Harald was born in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in 1936, the second child of Ernst and Ella Wittke (née Wauschkuhn). The family moved to Ochersleben in Saxony-Anhalt Germany in 1940. Harald’s father was a staff photographer for the German army during the war, a position that took him to all the capitals of Europe, but rarely home. At the end of the war the elder Wittke was a prisoner of war in Italy, leaving the family fatherless.
Conditions for the Wittke family after the war were difficult. The brutality of the Red Army’s march through Germany was followed by punative Soviet occupation and the repressive German Democratic Republic. Nine-year old Harald and his family found themselves with few resources and fewer opportunities.
Young Harald learned to provide for his family the best way he could. He foraged the local farms to “liberate” vegetables and grains. He and his sister ambushed food trucks at intersections. As a truck slowed, Harald clambered into the back and stole as much as possible before the driver noticed him. He threw boxes of potatoes, lettuce, carrots – anything edible – onto the road, where sister Edelgard ran behind and collected the booty in the front of her dress. Harald’s banditry became infamous, which often attracted the attention of the local Polizei. He endured this and much more suffering to make sure his mother and sister could eat. 
The Wittkes wanted desperately to flee East Germany, but legal emigration was impossible. Harald’s mother’s illness forced him to remain with her. During this time, he helped many others escape to freedom in the west, including sister Edelgard. Harald remained at his mother’s side until she passed away in 1956.
With nothing holding him in East Germany, he finally escaped to rejoin his sister in Frankfurt. From there, the two emigrated to New York City by boat, and from there a three-day bus ride brought them to Salt Lake City. Their grandmother, who had converted to the LDS church and moved to Utah before the war, sponsored them with religious family reunification visas. As he learned English, Harald anglicized his name to Harold, which he used for the rest of his life.
It was in Salt Lake City that Harold met the love of his life, his neighbor Tina Veltman Harold and Tina had three children: Yvonne, James, and Suzanne. Harold was a great provider and had a successful career at Portland Cement. Harold ensured that his three children never suffered the hardships he endured in East Germany. More importantly, he became the loving husband and father that he so missed in his own childhood.
In accordance with his German tradition, Harold’s grandchildren called him “Opa”. During his retirement, Opa could be found at the movies with his grandchildren or on the soccer field with his grandsons. Opa could also be found at the family business, Water and Wellness, playing his harmonica for customers. Opa and Oma loved their grandchildren dearly and provided much love and affection.
Opa taught us all that “everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s own way.” Opa chose to spread love and laughter to all those he encountered. He taught his children and grandchildren that suffering is inescapable, but how we respond and persist is everything.
Opa will be remembered for the life principles he left us with including perseverance, grit, love, laughter, and determination. We will miss you, Opa. We will carry these principles with us and do our best to try to spread as much laughter and love as you did.
Opa was preceded in death by his parents, Ernst Walter Wittke and Ella Waushkuhn Wittke, by his son James Wittke, and by his soulmate Tina Veltman Wittke He is survived by sister; Edlegard and Carlos Henry; by his children Yvonne and Russell Knares Suzanne and Alex Hoggan; by his grandchildren Stacy and John Rolph, Brandon and Danielle Russell, Archie Hoggan, and Walter and Sage Hoggan; and many Great Grandchildren. A special thanks to Joyce Wade for her friendship and companionship. 
A Celebration of Life will be on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, from 6-8 pm at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 S. 900 E., Millcreek, UT. All are invited to attend and celebrate the life of Opa. Please visit Starksfuneral.com to share memories and photos with Harold's family.
People wishing to honor Harold’s lifelong commitment to family, community, and helping others can make donations to The Beacon House Association of San Pedro. Please send all donations to 1003 South Beacon Street, San Pedro, CA 90731.