Melvin E. Lotz was born on April 7, 1922, to Elmer A. and Martha Kattner Lotz in Ottawa, Ill. He was raised on farms in the nearby Grand Ridge area and graduated from the Ottawa Township High School. Mel served his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II, was stationed at Scott AFB, Shepard AFB, and Hill AFB and was discharged on December 7, 1945.
He married Dorothy Emma Miller on a foggy Feb. 2, 1944, in her home in the Kaysville Bamberger Railroad Station. Their vows were later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Their three children are Marjorie Ann Burton, Kaysville; Terry and Marilyn Lotz, Centerville and Tom Lotz, St. George. They have 12 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. He also has two sisters, Lorraine Richard and Judith Thielbert and a brother, Gilbert (deceased).
A convert member of the LDS Church, he has served in a number of callings in the Kaysville 4th Ward.
During his career in civil service, he worked at the Naval Supply Depot, Clearfield, for 11 years and at Hill Air Force Base for 23 years. During a parallel career he worked at Lagoon Amusement Park for 50 seasons. Upon retirement, he served in the Bountiful LDS Temple for five years.
His retirement is filled with many family activities and associations and patronizing many medical professionals. His main hobby is reading, with writing his life history a close second and genealogy a growing interest.



