Karl George Scholz

admin on October 19, 2022

Karl George Scholz, of Arvada, Colorado died on Thursday, October 6, 2022. The son of

George Everett Scholz and Josephine Elizabeth Hinkle Scholz, Karl was born on June 30,

1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child and only son in a family of five children.

His gifts for words, for all things detailed and mechanical, and for music showed up early and

these passions were always a part of his life – a life that Karl lived on his own terms.

A musical prodigy, music was a part of who Karl was, and he loved music of all kinds – from

blues to classical to rock and roll. Whenever you were around Karl, you were also around music.

Growing up, music was always emanating from his bedroom – either the live playing of his

trumpet or the recorded playing of some song from his vast collection of vinyl – a collection

which he began as a child and which included over 1,000 albums when he died. He could pick

up almost any instrument and, within a couple of hours have figured out how to play it, and he

especially loved the harmonica, which he played for a variety of bands.

After graduating from Arvada West High School in 1969, Karl leapt into life with both feet,

leading a bohemian lifestyle that included many friendships, adventures, jobs, and pursuits

including working as a mechanic and as a “roadie” for many years. A “motorhead”, Karl loved

cars of all kinds and his favorite hobby was model-making. He leaves behind an impressive

array of model cars and planes – all lovingly put together with an extraordinary attention for

detail. For Karl always found pleasure in the details of life – the things that many of us overlook

– and he had an amazing memory. As a child he read the dictionary to learn unusual words –

which he loved using – and he always retained a vast knowledge of music, remembering tunes,

lyrics, songs, titles, artists . . .

Never a healthy person, in his middle age Karl developed Primary Lateral Sclerosis – a type of

ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease – which slowly stripped him of all mobility until, for the past

couple of years, he became home bound. He even had difficulty communicating – the disease

effected his speech and even his ability to use his cell phone for texting. And he could be a

difficult person – in fact some people used the term “curmudgeon” to describe his personality.

But he retained his unique capacity to find the joy in life’s small moments. He could sit for

hours and watch the squirrels outside his window eating the peanuts he kept for the home health

people to put in the feeders when they left the house after caring for him, he loved looking at his

coin collection, and he also loved his family and friends deeply – he was sensitive, kind, and

very sentimental.

His many possessions – most of them mementos from his and his family’s past

– were arranged “just-so” so that he could always see them, and he remembered wonderful

stories about each and every one of them. And he continued his model-making. Sometimes it

would take days for him to put even one small part of some complicated car model together, but

when a model was done, he displayed it proudly. And even when he could no longer make

music, he always had it playing in some way in his house. His physical life was completely

confined and yet he still found joy in living.

Karl is survived by his four sisters and their husbands – Carol and Richard Buckalew, Judith and

Francis Castonguay, Barbara and Jim Banks, and Susan and Warren Kunish; many nieces and

nephews and great nieces and nephews; one Aunt – Zelma Levering; and many cousins.

Karl’s life will be celebrated with a funeral on Thursday, November 3rd , at 1:00 p.m. at Christ the King

Episcopal Church, 6490 Carr Street, Arvada Colorado with a reception following.

Donations in his memory can be made to the ALS Association: