Utz Horst Conard: Feb. 5, 1944 – March 11, 2019

Utz Conard was a man of many hobbies with as many varied interests as he had children — that is to say, a lot. As a workaholic, he preferred actions to words, felt deeply while keeping those feelings to himself and dealt with the harder emotions in life with a quirky sense of humor. He was loved, admired and respected by all who knew him.

Utz was born on Feb. 5, 1944, to Christel Scheit Gollmer in Misdroy, Germany, on the island of Wolin, located along the Baltic Coast. In the aftermath of WWII, mother and son immigrated to the United States, finding their way to yet another island — Whidbey Island, located in the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest.

He attended Coupeville High School where, naturally athletic, he excelled at every sport he attempted — his No. 22 jersey ruled the hardwood as well as the gridiron. In his 20s, he explored the sea and sky, both above and below the earth’s surface. Penn Cove was where he pursued many of these high adventures — scuba diving, boating, biking and racing through blue skies in his yellow-and-white Bonanza airplane.

Yet nothing compared to his love affair with internal combustion engines and his romance with cars — the man knew his way around an engine, and the quirkier the machine, the more he was drawn to its functions. He was never so happy as when he found some derelict thing that needed restoration: bikes, lawnmowers, cars, boats — all needed his attention, and he provided it lavishly.

Utz belonged to the Seventh Day Adventist Church and was a dedicated deacon, served as a Sabbath School teacher, led the Pathfinders youth group and helped co-found the Beavers. Later, the Boy Scouts of America Sea Explorer program captured his imagination (where, of course, he was the ship’s engineer, building and maintaining its mechanicals).

Utz was young at heart, and his boyish enthusiasm made him a tremendous father to his nine children. Infinitely patient and kind, he used his brand of eccentric humor in all of life’s pursuits — as a father, a teacher, a coach, and a work colleague.

His humor most often came in the form of “sayings” — either made up or from his favorite films or books: “Get up!” “Walk it off!” or even “Rub some dirt into it!”

Oddly, he was especially fluent in “Tarzan-speak.” If a stray animal wandered into his yard, he could be heard yelling, “Ungawa,” the word Tarzan used to motivate elephants and other jungle critters. Utz often laughed hardest at his own sad jokes and was quick to pick out a nickname suitable for each of his children’s personalities. Tom was “Major Tom” and Cathy was ever so blessed with, “The Dog named Cat.” The clumsy one was named “Crash” (of course).

He will be deeply missed by his nine children: Cindy Conard, Perry Elliott (Karan), Steve Conard (Elizabeth), Cathy Raines (Jason), Tom Conard (Cristie), Jerry Conard (Michelle), Bill Conard (Michele), Joe Conard (Kayla) and Christine Watt (Chris); 15 grandchildren; five great grandchildren; as well as his life-companion Trish Thoraldson and her two sons, Kyle and Troy Buckner.

We can only imagine his last thoughts on this mortal earth were no doubt how he planned to rebuild the old Mercedes he’d just acquired.

Per Utz’s request (due to his distaste for the winter months), his funeral and memorial will be held during the summer, the date and location to be determined soon. A memorial page for Utz has been established at the following link: www.flintofts.com/obituary/Utz-Horst-Conard/Issaquah-Washington/1839468.