Willow Glen Resident

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Photograph courtesy of the Peltz family

Enjoyed it All: M. Earl Peltz Jr. was a longtime teacher in the Cambrian School District. He was proficient in photography, woodcarving, archery and even birding.

Earl Peltz had an insatiable appetite for learning, humor

By Alicia Upano

M. Earl Peltz Jr. never stopped learning. The son of a teacher, Peltz embraced education as a profession and a lifelong avocation.

Peltz, who began exhibiting signs Alzheimer's in the mid-1990s, died on April 11 of a staph infection. He was 83.

Peltz spent decades teaching third and fourth grade in the Cambrian School District and for several years served as principal of Fammatre Elementary School and the vice principal of Ida Price Middle School. In his spare time, Peltz continued to explore new subjects and hobbies.

"He just loved the process of learning. He never stopped reading and taking classes," his daughter, Mary-Lynne Larson, said. As a result, her father became proficient in photography, woodcarving, archery and birding.

Peltz was born in Springfield, Mo., in 1922. His father, Earl, who was also an educator, taught everything from English to woodshop. The family moved to Boise, Idaho, where Peltz graduated from Boise High School. During his high school years, he was on the debate team and faced off with Frank Church, who later became a U.S. senator.

At 17, Peltz volunteered for early military service and constructed barracks for 18 months on Wake Island, a Pacific island situated between Hawaii and Guam. In 1941, he attended officer training school and entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. While stationed in Utah, he developed tonsillitis and during his recuperation fell in love with his attending nurse, Margaret Green.

"Back in those days, you got married before you were shipped off and went overseas," his daughter said.

That's exactly what happened. The Peltzes married, and the groom was quickly sent to Bury St. Edmunds, England.

Peltz had been trained to pilot B-17s and served as a bombardier with the 8th Air Force, 92nd Bomber Squadron.

The B-17s were loud, and the noise affected Peltz's hearing, leaving him temporarily grounded on the military base. But it turned out to be a stroke of luck, because his flight crew was shot down the first day Peltz was grounded.

Peltz returned to Utah after the war to his wife and oldest son, Richard. He received a bachelor of arts in education from the University of Utah. During that time his second son, Stephen, was born. In 1950, the family moved to San Jose after Peltz was offered a position at Horace Mann Elementary School. Peltz finished his master's degree in education at San José State University and worked toward a Ph.D. in education from Stanford University. His two daughters, Mary-Lynne Larsen and Susan Johnson, were born in San Jose.

Wade Calvert met Peltz through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Willow Glen more than 40 years ago. Calvert remembers knocking on his door and having a long chat with Peltz on the front porch. It was the beginning of a long friendship.

Calvert, who was also Peltz's dentist, frequently golfed and fished with him.

"I picture him with a little smile on his face, 'cause he always had a joke to tell you," Calvert said.

In 1972, the Peltzes wanted to move from San Jose to Campbell, and it was Calvert who found them a house, very near to his own.

In 2002, Peltz's wife died of a diabetes-related ailment, and two years later Peltz moved to an assisted-living facility because his Alzheimer's was progressing.

"We considered each other brothers," Calvert said. "Even when he forgot everybody's name, I would always tell him his brother was coming, and he knew it was me."

Larson said her father's dementia could be heartbreaking to the family and frustrating for Peltz, whose lifetime of knowledge was out of reach. But his sense of humor kept a part of him alive, she said.

"Even when Alzheimer's took so many things, it did not take that. But he couldn't remember the punch lines, which drove him crazy," Larson said.

In his later years, he enjoyed spending time with his eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Larson said the funeral was a celebration of life rather than a grieving. This is just the way her father would have wanted it, she added.

At Peltz's service his sons fulfilled their father's wishes by making sure the family told a couple of good jokes, including a golf joke, Larson said.

Services were held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Cherry Avenue. Peltz was buried in Utah.