Pietsch, Tony

Anthony (Tony) Alexander Pietsch, 93, of Chandler, AZ passed away on Wednesday August 30, 2017. He was born September 21, 1923 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Franklin Square on Long Island, he went to school and worked in his parent’s bakery evenings. He graduated high school in 1941, and was admitted to Stevens Institute of Technology earning a Mechanical Engineering Degree in 1947. His college education was halted for service in the Merchant Marine as a Licensed Marine Engineer from 1944 to 1946 where he served on gasoline tankers in the North Atlantic. He married his wife of 68 years, Laurel Harrod, on June 17, 1949. Soon after, the couple moved to Ohio where they had three children. He worked for General Electric in Ohio from 1953 to 1961 and then moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona. He thoroughly enjoyed his employment for Allied-Signal (AiResearch, Garret) as a Senior Engineer. He retired in 1987, but continued to consult. He enjoyed investing, sailing, snow skiing, model railroading, photography and traveling with Laurel in retirement. He is survived by his wife, Laurel, son Robert Pietsch, daughter Karen Pietsch Kafka and her husband Steve, granddaughter Katie Pietsch, and grandsons Alex and Andrew Kafka. He was preceded in passing by his oldest son, Anton. There will be a remembrance celebration at 10:30 am, September 21 at Mission del Sol Presbyterian Church, 1565 E. Warner Road in Tempe, contact Karen Kafka: 480 895-6201. A debt of gratitude goes out to Sunrise of Chandler and Hospice of the Valley for their kind and compassionate care in his final days.