Lloyd Baysdorfer

July 23, 1924 - January 29, 2021

Lloyd had hopes of being the oldest surviving WWII veteran.

This hope was ended along with his struggle with lung cancer.

But surely he was one of the most respected and loved.

He left us peacefully the morning of Friday, January

29.

Fortunately, thanks to Kaiser Hospice, he was at home, and his wife and son were with him at the end. Lloyd was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and was to be the oldest of five children. He was the last survivor of those family members. From an early age, growing up in Kearney, Nebraska, Lloyd was a precocious student, with a love of languages and drama. He graduated high school with honors at age

15. He continued his study of languages, including Latin, French, Russian, and especially German (even Spanish in recent years).. He also played roles in student plays throughout high school and college and earned a Masters Degree in German.

The German language was to serve him well as he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 and was on active duty in France and Germany. He was ultimately assigned to counter intelligence duty as the war waned and the U.S. worked to normalize German local governments. This work actually led him to a German family in Munich and to marriage to a German wife. Lloyd and Dorle had son Christoph, who remained close to his father up to the end. However, that marriage ended in divorce in 1974.

Professionally, Lloyd was always a teacher. First with high school students, a short stint at the University of Oklahoma, high school English and German at San Lorenzo High School, in California,

and finally at Merritt Community College in Oakland, California, from 1958 until retiring in 1986. At the time of retirement, he held the administrative position of Dean of Instruction. (He often joked recently that he would “break” the California Teachers Retirement system because he was so long retired!)

In 1975 Lloyd married Carolyn Schuetz, then a counselor at Merritt College. Carolyn and Lloyd had 45 happy years of love, travel, opera, books, and family. He even trained to become a travel agent, post-retirement, which fed the travel bug for the couple.

Lloyd was also generous with his time and talents in retirement. He performed volunteer work for the Salvation Army, Oakland Pot Luck, Alameda Public Schools, and Oakland Next Step. He also accompanied Carolyn in her work for Rotary International and the COANIQUEM Burned Children Foundation.

Lloyd is survived by his wife Carolyn Schuetz Baysdorfer, son Christoph Baysdorfer, daughter-inlaw Tena, granddaughter Zoe, nephew Christian in Germany, and numerous adoring nieces in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Georgia.

He will be sorely missed by many. A memorial will be planned for some later date.