View full sizeDirk Waltz, founder of Dirk Waltz Buick in Midland, died on Wednesday. He was 97.MIDLAND — One of Midland’s oldest businessmen is being remembered as a hardworking, trusting person.
Dirk B. Waltz, founder of Dirk Waltz Buick, died Wednesday at MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland. He was 97.
“The man was a friend of everyone,” said Alan Ott, a retired Chemical Bank president and chairman.
Waltz served on the Board of Directors at Chemical Financial Corp. from 1960 to 1983.
“He was a good businessman because he trusted people and people trusted him,” said Ott. “He was an interesting man that had a lot of good people around him. He was smart and very philanthropic.”
Born Sept. 16, 1913, Waltz served as a turret gunner for the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a member of the Midland Rotary Club.
He married Charlotte “Jean” Waltz in 1935 in Midland and the couple had two children, Gretchen Waltz and Dirk D. Waltz.
Jean Waltz died in 1994.
After Dirk B. Waltz retired at age 70, his son and grandson, Dirk D. Waltz and Dirk A. Waltz took over the dealership at 718 E. Buttles St.
Tim Nash, vice president for strategic and corporate alliances and a professor of economics at Northwood University, called Waltz “a legend in the automotive industry.”
“What a great man,” said Nash, who, as a student at Northwood, met Waltz for the first time in the 1970s.
“He was in his mid-60s; just a wonderful, energetic guy,” said Nash. “He had built a very successful business. I just remember him as very kind.”
Nash said in his prime, Waltz contributed much of his time and business skills to the university, including helping with fundraising, delivering guest lectures and sitting on dealer panels.
He noted that three generations of the Waltz family have been involved in running the dealership that Dirk B. Waltz founded.
“It’s one of the older family dealerships and quite frankly, they’re priming the fourth generation,” said Nash. “The fact that some of the younger kids are beginning to look at running the business speaks to the foundation Mr. Waltz set in 1945 when he started the dealership.”
Tom Thelen, president of Thelen Auto Group in Bangor Township, said he didn’t personally know Waltz, but his reputation proceeded him.
“He had a splendid reputation in the industry,” said Thelen. “He was quite a naturalist, he liked the outdoors.”
In the early 1960s, Waltz opened Waltz’s Animal Farm on a 2-acre plot of land at his summer home on the shores of Saginaw Bay in Linwood. The farm, which was free to the public, was occupied by dozens of animals, including chickens, a donkey, a cow, horses and deer. Waltz also owned a St. Bernard named Max.
View full sizeA 1968 Times article on Waltz's animal farm in Linwood.In a 1968 Bay City Times article, Waltz talked about his love for the animals.
“People used to say to me that this thing would never work out. They said that all these different types of animals would just not get along,” said Waltz. “Instead, you couldn’t ask for greater harmony.”
Rachael Walsh, a Linwood resident helping to restore the Linwood Icehouse Museum, a project that Waltz financially supported, said the petting zoo was a staple of the Linwood Beach community.
“Daddy Dirk — that’s what I would call him — loved that petting zoo,” said Walsh, who lived down the road from Waltz. “He liked fun and was a good neighbor. I think he would be happy to know that everyone thought he was a great neighbor.”
Funeral services for Waltz take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1310 Ashman St. A 3 p.m. graveside committal service is at Midland City Cemetery, 3220 Orchard Drive. Rev. Wallace H. Mayton III officiates the service.
Funeral arrangements are by the Ware Smith Woolever Funeral Home, 1200 W. Wheeler St. Visitation is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Friday and at the church at 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the service.